It's in the genes
by Nazmuko
Summary: CathSara. Sara has to stay few days with Catherine and Lindsey, the moody teenager. How will the three of them get along? Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters or the show. They belong to wonderful people thanks to whom I have a reason to wake up every morning. No harm ment, no profit made. Just for fun.  
**

**Summary: **Sara has to stay few days with Catherine and Lindsey. How will the three of them get along?  
(I've been planning Lindsey to be quite a big part of this story, but she's not in this chapter yet.)**  
**

**A/N: **Ok, here we go. This is my first attempt to write something longer.

And I want to warn you, I have a bad habit to just start a new story when I meet the first problem or writer's block. I'll try hard not to do it with this, but I don't like about promising things.

English isn't my first language, so I might mix British and American spelling and that kind of things... If you think it's difficult to read and understand, just let me know and I'll do something about it.

And if you're looking for something unique, you're reading the wrong story. This story is mostly just me learning to write, time of the unique ideas is somewhere in the future. But if you encourage me enough, we might get there sooner.

And last but not least, this is a Cath/Sara story, so if you don't like about the idea, you're reading the wrong story, and you shouldn't blame me for that, ok?

**Just give it a shot, please? And let me know what you think.**

**

* * *

**When Catherine walked into the break room twenty minutes before her shift was supposed to begin, she found Sara sleeping on the couch with five suitcases next to her. Catherine started a fresh pot of coffee and then turned to her co-worker and friend. 

"Sara?" she asked softly and the brunette opened her eyes and blinked few times before focusing on the blonde standing next to her.

"Huh?"

"What's going on?" she asked and glanced at the luggage making sure Sara knew what she ment with her question.

Sara sat up and heaved a sigh.  
"Long strory short: My car broke down yesterday and I had to call a cab to get home. When I got home, there was two inches of water on the floor all over the apartment. Apparently the pipe had exploded. I was told to pack what I need and stay away for the next month so they can repair everything. And because it was morning and I hate hotels anyway, I decided I could just come here. Had to call a cab once again which didn't actually make me any happier."

"What are you going to do now?"

Sara shrugged. "I think I'll just have to ask for a lift everytime I need to get to a crime scene and hope Grissom doesn't send me solo. And I guess I can sleep here few more nights or days or whatever before Ecklie notices and I'm in trouble."

"Maybe... But not a month, you know." Catherine poured two cups of coffee and placed the other one on the table in front of Sara.

"Hey! What's up?" Greg greeted and made his way to the coffee pot. "Hey! This is my brew! And I don't remember letting you use it."

"Sara had a long day so I thought she might need it."

Sara smiled knowing Catherine started the pot before she knew about her day, but the answer seemed to calm Greg down, and she really didn't want to fight right then.

"Oh, in that case, it's ok. Anything for my beautiful lady."

"Oh, Greg. You're flattering me," Catherine smirked and Greg sent her a death glance. Sara smiled for their interaction.

"So, what was wrong with your day?" Greg asked and sat down.

"There's two inches of water on the floor of my apartment and I had to pack my life into there suitcases and leave. They said I could come back after a month. Oh, and my car's broken." the brunette sipped her coffee.

"Outch... You know, you can take another cup if you feel like you need it."

"Thanks. I think I might will." Sara smiled.

"Hey Sara? You're moving in for good, huh? It was about time. You spend more time here than in your apartment. No reason to pay the rent, right?" Warrick laughed and sat down.

Sara smiled a little. "A pipe blew off. Can't go back until the end of next month."

Catherine smiled when she noticed how the brunette told a shorter version every time. She couldn't help wondering what would be left for Grissom in case he was the last one to arrive, like he normally was. Maybe he was going to get just word "water" and a look that tells that you shouldn't make any questions.

"Outch... Where are you going to stay?"

Sara shrugged again. "I don't know. I don't really have an relatives or friends -other than you guys, I mean- around here so I guess I'll just sleep here until I come up with some kind of solution."

"You can always come and stay with me," Greg suggested with a smirk.

"Thanks, but I don't want you to get your hopes up." Sara smiled and put her empty cup on the table.

Grissom walked in and looked at Sara and her luggage. He raised an eyebrow and Sara answered his silent question with an expression that made it clear it was better if he didn't ask anything.

_Wow. She even skipped the "water" -part. _Catherine thought and couldn't help smiling.

Grissom turned to his papers again.

"Ok. Today's assignments. Catherine and Sara, a body dump in the desert. Warrick, you've got a missing person in Henderson, or at least that's where she was seen the last time--"

There were some awkward smiles in the room when the team tried to figure out if it was supposed to be a joke they should have laughed at or just a statement. Since there was no change in Grissom's tone and he continued like nothing had happened, they figured it wasn't a joke.

"-- and Greg, you come with me. Two kids got shot in a school football game."

"Where's Nick?" Warrick asked.

"Home. He has a flu. Luckily we don't have too many cases tonight. Ok, let's get to work."

Grissom walked out the break room and Greg hurried after him.

"Well, bye girls." Warrick smiled and headed out, too.

"I guess we'd better get going. It's gonna take few moments to drive to the scene." Catherine gave her friend an encouraging smile and got up. "And I think it might be better if we get those bags somewhere else. Unless you want Greg to know what kind of underwear you own."

"Yeah... Right about both." The brunette took as many bags as she could and Catherine took the rest. "Any ideas where to put these? My locker can only swallow one or two." Sara asked while they were walking.

"How about my car? There's plenty of room. And Ecklie won't find them. Nor will Greg."

"You sure it's ok?"

"Sure." Catherine was already walking out the front door of the lab.

"Ok. Just make sure you remember to give them to me before you leave."

"Actually... I was kind of wondering if you wanted to stay with me and Lindsey."

"Catherine..."

"I know that tone. And I don't like it." Catherine glanced at Sara and put her luggage in the trunk.

"I don't think it's a good idea."

"Is this about that date invitation? 'Cos I'm really just trying to be a friend here." Catherine opened the driver's door and sat in and Sara followed her example.

"I thought we'd left that behind already. You asked, I said no, that's it. This isn't personal, ok?"

"Come on. You can't stay in the lab. And you hate hotels. Nick's apartment is bit too small, Warrick's got a wife and you already turned Greg down. So you either have to live with me or Grissom and his bugs. I'm sure he'd love to have you around."

Catherine managed to cover the jealousy in her voice. She glanced at the brunette before starting the engine and speeding off.

"No thanks... His friend's aren't actually my friends." Sara smirked.

"I'm his friend."

"You're an exception."

"So, you coming?"

"Welllll..."

"Come on. Two days. If it's as awful as you think it is, then you can move back to lab, ok?"

"Two days, huh? And you promise you won't get disapponted if I leave after that? 'Cos I really am not good with the whole being a guest thing..."

"I promise."

"Ok... I guess we have a deal then..."

* * *


	2. Chapter 2

**Diclaimer: I didn't own them last week, I don't own them today. Some things never change, huh? No harm ment, no profit made.**

**A/N**: I was planning to update sooner, but I kind of got panicked because of your wonderful reviews. Logical, isn't it? I'm quite proud about the first chapter, and when you guys actually liked it, I just got the feeling that I have to make the second chapter perfect so I won't let you down... Well, it's not perfect. Far from that. But it's here.

I totally forgot to mention about spoilers in the first chapter. Well, this story has very little to do with the timeline of the show, so it's pretty much spoiler free.  
I've seen seasons 1 to 6, (and few episodes from season 7) so I might unintentionally use things that have been told in those episodes.

And I want to thank you all who spent a few seconds of your time and reviewed. And you too, who read but didn't have the courage to say anything. (Most of the times I'm in that group myself...)

Oh, and Lindsey's about 14 in this, I think.**  
**

**So, here we go.**

* * *

The night didn't go exactly the way the women had expected it to. Processing a scene of a body dump normally didn't take too long since the primary crime scene was somewhere else, but this one turned out to be pretty messy.

Animals had found the body before humans, and Catherine and Sara, among many others, spent hours collecting pieces of clothes and tissue in the desert around the body.

They had got to the lab spent most of the night doing paper work since they had to wait for the autopsy reports before they really had anything useful and there was a 'rush hour' going on at the morgue.

When the shift finally was over, Catherine walked into the locker room and found Sara leaning against the locker with her eyes closed.

"Well, well. Sara Sidle leaving the lab only five minutes after the shift ended." Catherine smiled and started to gather her belongings.

"I'm not in the mood for overtime." Sara got up and opened her locker.

"What are you in the mood for?" the blonde asked while putting her coat on.

"Food, shower, sleep. Haven't had any of those in last 48 hours."

"Ok, let's go. Nancy's taking Lindsey to school so we can go straight to my place."

"I guess this is the moment when I should be saying I'm sorry fot the trouble I cause, right?"

"Nah. This is the moment when you should get your stuff so we can get the hell out of here."

Sara smiled and followed the blonde to the parking lot.

They got into Catherine's car and speed off.

The drive only took twenty minutes, but Sara already managed to fall asleep. Catherine smiled when she looked at her tired friend leaning against the window.

"Sara, we're here." Catherine whispered after parking at her driveway. "Time to wake up."

"Mm?"

Before the brunette had time to actually wake up, Catherine had already picked up her suitcases from the trunk and was carrying those into her house.

Sara walked after her friend and found her in the hall.

"You know, I could have carried something."

"I had too much energy and you looked like you had too little." Catherine smiled and walked towards the kitchen. "Coffee?"

"This is something I thought I'd never say, but do you have tea?"

"Sure. And I think I have some apple pie here... " the blonde searched the fridge. "Found it. Or do you want real breakfast? I can do pancakes or something if you're very hungry." Catherine placed the pie on the table.

"I'm fine with the apple pie. Sleep is number one on my list right now." Sara smiled and sat down.

Catherine put the water on the heat and then turned to her friend again. "You can just use whatever you find in the kitchen. Don't need to ask permission when you want to eat, ok?"

"Ok..." Sara found the thought little awkward.

"Hey, you're gonna stay here two days, at least. You might as well start to feel comfortable."

"I try, I promise. I'm just too tired to think right now." The brunette tried to smile.

"Ok."

Catherine found some teabags and put those on the table. Then she searched plates and spoons for the pie. Meanwhile the brunette sat and stared at the teabags like she'd never seen one before.

Catherine heard the water boiling and poured it into two cups. She placed one in front of her friend who glanced at her quickly and then turned to stare at her tea cup.

"Are you working tonight?" Catherine asked and sat down opposite to Sara.

The brunette lifted her eyes from the steaming liquid in front of her.  
"Yeah, I'm off tomorrow. Why?"

"We only have one car, remember?"

"Oh..."

"But it's no problem since I'm working tonight, too."

"Yeah, that's good... Work's nice." Sara mumbled and started to eat her apple pie. Catherine smiled and decided it was better if she didn't even try to start a conversation with the brunette when she was so tired. So they sit there in silence, sipping their teas and eating apple pie. Sara's "tea" was really just a cup of hot water since she forgot to put a teabag in it, but she didn't really notice the difference.

Few minutes later Sara took another spoonfull of the pie and lifted it towards her mouth but the piece dropped on the table before reaching it's destination. The brunette stared at the empty spoon with confusion written on her face.

"Uh, Sara?" Catherine waved her hand in front of Sara's face but got no reaction. "Earth to Sara."

"Huh?" Sara finally lifted her head and blinked few times, letting the spoon drop on the table.

"I think it's time to go to bed, honey."

"Huh?"

"Bed. Now." Catherine got up and walked to her friend who had a stupid grin on her face. "What's so funny?" she asked and offered her hand which Sara willingly took and got up.

"You sure know what words to use when you want to wake up a woman."

"Are you flirting with me, Sara Sidle?" Catherine asked over her shoulder while picking up Sara's bags and starting to lead the way upstairs.

"Nah... But I might think _you_ were flirting with _me..._"  
Sara yawned and followed her friend. "And I could have carried something, you know that."

"Yes, I know. You don't need to say it again every time."

"Right..."

"So, here's the guest room." Catherine stepped in and put the luggage down. "The sheets are clean. The bathroom's over there. You need a towel?"

"I packed my own one, I think."

"Ok. The closet's empty so you can put your belongings there if you want to."

Sara sat down on the bed. "Okay. Thanks."

"Sure. Good night." Catherine smiled and left the room.

Sara looked at the empty closet, then her suitcases, then the closet again, but decided she was too tired to unpack right then. Instead she searched her bags to find a towel and something to sleep in.

She found a blue silk nightgown which she didn't use very often, but decided she had deserved some luxury after what had happened during the past 24 hours. Sara placed the nightgown on the bed and walked to the bathroom.

While the brunette enjoyed a long and hot shower she'd been waiting the whole night, Catherine cleaned up the kitchen. The blonde didn't feel sleepy at all, but she decided she might as well try to sleep few hours before starting with the dinner.

Soon they were both curled under the covers in their own rooms, soundly asleep.

* * *

Five hours later Catherine's alarm clock went off. She took a shower and made her way to the kitchen, deciding to make veggie lasagne for dinner.

When she had put the lasagne in the oven, she heard the front door open.

"Hey Lindsey."

"Hi..." the teenager answered while hanging her coat.

"Sara's going to spend few days here since a pipe blew off in her apartment and she can't stay there, ok?"

"Ok..." the girl mumbled and walked to stairs.

"Try to be nice to her." Catherine said after her daughter.

"Whatever..." the younger blonde mumbled before stepping into her room.

"The dinner's at five" Catherine yelled to be heard through the now closed door but the only answer she got was loud rock music.

Catherine leaned against the kitchen doorframe, closed her eyes and heaved a sigh. Were all teenagers like that?

_Well, I might as well wake Sara up now before that damn music does._  
she thought, opened her eyes and walked upstairs. Maybe Lindsey would even try to behave when there was a guest in the house.

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own them**. And the only profit I get from this is the huge ego boost your reviews give me.

**A/N:** Well, I wasn't any quicker this time, was I? Sorry for that. I could explain but I doubt you really wanna know.  
Well, now I'm here, and that's what counts, right?  
This chapter is bit more serious, but I'll try to put more humor to the next chapters since you guys seem to like it.

And I really want to thank all of you who have reviewed. You have no idea how much it means to me.

I also want to remind that I'm not trying to invent a unique plot, I'm just trying to make this a complete story which is worth reading.

So, **here we go again.**

* * *

"Sara?" Catherine asked softly and knocked on the guest room door, but got no answer. She opened the door just a little bit and knocked again. No answer this time either, so she stepped in and glanced around. 

Sara was peacefully asleep, lying on her back in the middle of the bed. The blanket had rolled down to her waist revealing upper part of Sara's silky nightgown which looked corgeous against her skin.

Catherine looked at the brunette for a while and a sad smile formed on her lips. She couldn't help wondering how it was possible to be so happy and so sad at the same time. She was glad about Sara staying at her place, but at the same time the thought of this arrangement only being temporary was devastating.

Catherine woke back to reality when the sleeping brunette mumbled something and moved a little. The blonde was about to call her friend's name again when she noticed the luggage next to the bed and got lost in thought again.

_Was she just tired, or did she think it's no use to unpack because of two days?_

Catherine really hoped Sara had just been tired, because despite what she had promised, she would get disappointed if Sara leaved after those two days she had promised. The blonde shook her head and told herself to concentrate.

She walked next to the bed and kneeled down.

"Sara?" Catherine whispered and placed her hand on her friend's shoulder.  
"Sara?" This time she said it bit louder, shaking Sara's shoulder gently.

"Mmm?" The brunette mumbled and moved a little.

"Dinner's ready."

Sara immediately opened her eyes and stared at the blonde like making sure she heard right.

Catherine laughed at her friend's expression.  
"Right words again, huh?"

"Definitely." Sara smirked and sat up.

Catherine smiled, got up and started to walk towards the door.  
"I'll go and drag Lindsey from her room. Meet us downstairs, ok?"

"Sure."

Catherine closed the door and Sara searched her bags to find some clean clothes since she had spent over 48 hours in the clothes she wore before the shower. When she was dressed, she looked at herself in the mirror. Her hair was a mess and it was obvious she had only been awake few minutes, but she couldn't stop smiling.

Sara started to comb her hair thinking how a shower and few hours of sleep can do miracles. She was feeling great, and the thought of staying at Catherine's didn't feel as awkward as it had few hours earlier. She glanced at her luggage and decided to unpack right after dinner.

The brunette put the comb down and smiled for herself throught the mirror before heading downstairs.  
When Sara reached kitchen, she noticed Lindsey sitting at the table, looking rather unhappy, drawing patterns on her empty plate with her fork.

"Hi Lindsey," Sara said from the doorway.

"Hi Sara," Lindsey mumbled but didn't even look at the brunette.

Catherine, who was standing at the other side of the room, turned around and sent her daughter a glance which told she wasn't happy about her behaviour.  
"Linds..." Catherine warned but the teenager ignored both her look and her tone.

Catherine sighed and asked Sara to sit down. The brunette chose to sit next to Lindsey. Catherine brought the lasagne and sat down opposite to them.

"I made veggie lasagne. I hope you like it."

The brunette smiled. "You remembered."

"Of course I did."

After few quiet moments they all had food on their plates. Lindsey continued what she had been doing earlier, this time pushing the food around the plate as she went.

"This is good, Catherine. You need to give me the recipe." Sara said after tasting the lasagne.

"Thanks. I will." Catherine smiled.

"So, Linds, how's school?" Sara asked.

"It's fine, I guess." The girl shrugged.

"What's your favorite subject?"

"I dunno. Math's kinda nice."

Catherine raised her eyebrows and the look she sent Sara, told this was something she heard for the very first time.

"May I ask why?"

The girl shrugged again. "It's so simple. You just pick up a formula and follow it. No one changes the rules, there's no exceptions..."

"I know what you mean."

"That would make you the first one," the girl mumbled. "Thanks for food, I think I'll go and do my homework." Lindsey got up and headed to her room.

"But you didn't even taste it!" Catherine yelled after her.

"I'm not hungry."

They heard the door get closed. Catherine shook her head.

"Congratulations, you just met my lovely daughter."

"She _is_ lovely. It's just the age, Catherine." Sara gave her friend an encouraging smile.

"Right... That was her good mood. I hope you don't need to witness the bad one."

"Don't worry about that."

"You know what? During that short conversation she told you more than she has told me in past two months."

"When was the last time you asked her about school?"

Catherine shrugged and heaved a sigh. "You're right. I quit trying to talk with her a while ago."

Sara reached over the table and took Catherine's hand. "Don't worry, really. She has your genes. Which means she has some temper..." Catherine opened her mouth to comment on that, but Sara continued before she had time to say anything. "But it also means she has your brains, which means she won't do anything stupid. Even though with the looks she inherited she'll sure be tempted."

"Sara!"  
Sara was amused by the way how Catherine tried to decide if she should be flattered or worried.  
"That's not really helping." For a second the blonde looked worried. "But thank you, I guess." A small smile formed on both of their lips.

"It's just the age, Catherine. She'll get over it. You both will."

Catherine tried to think something to say, but instead squeezed her friend's hand for few seconds and then let it go. "Thank you," she whispered and smiled.  
They finished their dinner in silence.

* * *

**Little later:**

"I think I'll go to my room and read, ok?" Sara said.

Catherine smiled. "Sure. And you don't need to ask permission every time you want to do something."

"I know. I wasn't really asking permission, I was more like letting you know about my plans."

"Ok. I think I'll do some laundry and clean up a little bit. And maybe sleep few hours before we leave for work. And maybe I'll try to talk with Lindsey."

"Ok. See ya. And good luck."

Sara made her way to the guest room and started to unpack. It took almost an hour to find a place for every item, but finally the closet was arranged just like she wanted it to be.

She even put a picture of their team on the nightstand after hesitating for a moment.  
She always had the picture near her, but the thought of Catherine seeing it almost made her leave it in the closet.

In the picture Sara and Catherine were standing in the middle, hands on each other's shoulders, smiling to the camera, and the boys were around them, like in a giant hug or something. Well, except Greg who was on his knees at the front, with his flirty smirk on. Even Grissom was smiling. They had been celebrating something, Sara couldn't remember what. Someone's birthday maybe.

The room really felt like home now that the bags were gone and the picture was there.

"Perfect," Sara whispered to herself, took her favorite book, lay down on the bed and started to read, but her mind started to wonder to the Willows women. Sara was sure Catherine would be happy when Sara told her she was planning to stay longer. She also realized she had to ask Lindsey's opinion before making her final decision and before telling Catherine about her plans.

Sara put the book down after reading only few pages and decided to talk with Lindsey.

She looked at the closet, in which she had her life perfectly arranged, then the picture on the nightstand, and sighed. The thought of packing everything up tomorrow and moving back to lab felt awful.

But after all, the last thing she wanted was to cause more trouble between Catherine and her daughter.  
That came before everything else.  
Sara got up and headed to Lindsey's room, hoping she'd find the right words.

* * *

**A/N:** Random note: I used to love math when I was a teenager. When it felt like my life was a huge mess and there were only problems but no solutions, in math there was always a solution, and I always had the right tools, I just had to decide which ones to use. I know it's a small part of this chapter but I wanted to tell why I put it there.

Tell me what you like. I know this chapter was different. Was it too different?


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI.**

**A/N: **Wow! So many reviews... Awesome. Thank you, thank you, thank you!  
And it's nice to know others like math, too. Most of my friends think I'm weird because I love numbers...

I want to remind you that English isn't my mother tongue, so please let me know if I'm using a wrong word or writing the same word wrong every time or something.

I'm updating soon this time. I have a week long holiday, starting today, and I should be reading for exams. Lots of time to write, right? My head just gets full of ideas when I should be doing something else.

Well, here we go.

* * *

Sara knocked on Lindsey's door, which was decorated with posters telling to stay away. 

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in?"

"I guess," the teenager answered and Sara sneaked in. Lindsey was lying on her stomach on the bed, reading a book. She didn't even glance at the brunette when she walked closer and sat down in a chair near the bed.

"I just thought to tell you there's some lasagne in the fridge in case you get hungry."

"Don't."

"Sorry? What did I do?"

"Don't try to pretend you're my friend. I know next you'll tell me you understand how I feel and what I'm going through and if there's something I want to talk about I can come to you and blaah-blaah." Lindsey put the book down and stared at the brunette. "And that was, by the way, one of the worst conversation openings I've heard. And no one sits down if they're just telling there's food in the fridge."

Sara couldn't help the small smile forming on her lips. This definitely was Catherine's daughter she was talking with. Just as clever and just as stubborn.

"What are you smiling at?"

"Ok, I have no idea what you're going through, I admit that. But I know you'll be hungry at some point of the night if you don't eat. Ok?"

"Whatever." The girl turned to stare at the book which lay in front of her.

"Listen, you were right, I didn't come here because of the lasagne. There's something I need to talk with you, ok? Your mom made me promise I'd stay here at least two days. I guess she told you that."

"Yeah?"

"She also offered I could live here until I can move back to my own apartment. Which would mean a month, minimum."

"And...?"

"Well, you live here too, so just say if you don't want me here and I'll leave after those two days. I don't want to cause any troubles, ok?"

The girl sighed and sat up. "You're not causing troubles, mom is." Lindsey rolled her eyes. "And speaking the truth I don't care if _you_ live here or not. It's mom I'd want out of this house."

"Who would do the laundry and cook if your mom wasn't here?"

Lindsey shrugged. "I dunno. I've heard there's lasagne in the fridge." The girl smirked.

Few seconds they just looked at each other's eyes, a small smile on their lips.  
Suddenly Lindsey turned away, like afraid what the brunette might see in her eyes. She lay down again and picked her book, starting to read. She was back to her role, but Sara had already seen behind that.

Sara noticed it was useless to try to start a conversation, so she got up and walked to the door. "Thanks," she said from the doorway before closing the door.  
Through the door Sara could hear a quiet "Whatever" mumbled.

Sara knew Lindsey didn't really hate her mother, she just needed to let some steam out every now and then. That much they had in common, Sara and Lindsey. The fights between the two CSIs were legendary. But at the same time they cared about each other, and they always got over their fights, no matter how bad those were. Sara knew Catherine and Lindsey would get through this, too. If she only could make Catherine see things like that and stop worrying...

Sara was feeling a lot calmer now that she knew Lindsey had nothing against her stay. She picked up her book again, and got lost in the story.

* * *

Sara didn't even realize she had fallen asleep, until she woke up. She lifted her head a little, removed the book she had obviously used as a pillow and looked around wondering what woke her up. That's when she noticed the sounds coming from the downstairs. A fight. Catherine and Lindsey were definitely yelling at each other, but Sara couldn't hear the words. 

The brunette sneaked out of her room and towards the voices. She reached the stairs just in time to witness the great last scene of the argument.

"Be home at ten!" Catherine yelled after her daughter who was marching to the front door.

"Eleven!" The teenager yelled angrily and closed the door behind her. She didn't slam it, but closed it gently. The contrast between her words and her actions was almost hilarious. Few seconds later a car speeded off.

Sara was still standing at the end of the stairs and her friend hadn't noticed her. Catherine closed her eyes and leaned her back against the wall. She banged her head on the wall few times and then slided down slowly, yelling in frustration. In the end she was sitting on the floor, eyes still closed, leaning to the wall.

The brunette walked to her friend and sat down beside her.

"That was her bad mood." Catherine whispered, eyes still closed.

Sara took the blonde's hand and squeezed it gently.

Catherine opened her eyes and looked at her friend.  
"We woke you up," she stated.

"No, you didn't."

Catherine smiled a little and lifted her hand on Sara's cheek and started to follow some kind of pattern there with her index finger. "You fell asleep on your book. Nice red mark on you cheek." She traced the line once again and then took away her hand. "Sorry for waking you."

"It's ok. I wasn't planning to sleep. It just happened."

Catherine sighed and closed her eyes again.  
"And I wasn't planning to yell at her. It just happened..."

"Where did she go?"

"Out with friends. Which means I have no idea. God, I hope she doesn't do anything stupid when she's that angry."

"She said she'd be home at eleven, right?"

"Yes."

"Our shift starts at midnight, so we'll see her before we leave."

"What if she's so angry she doesn't want to come home? Or worse, what if she thinks I'm so angry she can't come home? Normally she just locks herself into her room when we fight. At least then I know she's safe."

"If she's not here at eleven, then we'll skip work and wait until she comes. Everything's gonna be fine."

"We?"

"You really think I'd leave you here alone, worried sick?"

"You should. I shouldn't have brought you in the middle of this. I completely understand if you prefer the peace of lab to this."  
Her tone told this was something she didn't want to say, but felt like she had to.

Catherine hadn't even realize Sara was still holding her hand until she squeezed it again.  
"I just unpacked. And I hate packing, so if you don't mind, I'd like to stay a bit longer."

Catherine opened her eyes and stared at Sara's hazel ones, doubt being obvious on her face.  
"You're crazy." Catherine's voice was no more than a whisper, but the smile on her lips spoke loud and clear.  
"I know. But I think I'll fit in just fine."  
"Thank you." Catherine didn't even know what she was thanking for, but it felt like the right thing to say.

"Did you get any sleep before that?" Sara nodded towards the front door.

Catherine shook her head. "I thought I'd talk with Lindsey and then go to bed. She said she's going out with friends. I said she should have asked me... And the rest is history, as they say."

"You should sleep."

"I don't know if I can. Maybe I should call Lindsey..."

"She wouldn't answer. Send a message. Tell her to come home safe. No arguing, ok? You can ground her when she comes home, but there's no reason for her to know that now."

Sara got up and helped her friend on her feet too.

"You're better in this than I am. Maybe you should send the message. I always seem to choose the wrong words."

Catherine streched her legs which were bit sore thanks to sitting on the floor.

"I'm not her mother." Sara started to walk towards bedroom and the blonde followed her, few steps behind.

"Too bad. You'd be good in that."

"I guess you have to marry me then." Sara looked over her shoulder and smirked. Catherine's heart skipped few beats.

_What am I supposed to answer to that? "I do"?_

Catherine opened her mouth but closed it again when no words came out. Luckily Sara wasn't looking at her anymore._  
Gosh, that woman has a strange sense of humor._

Sara opened the door to Catherine's bedroom and stepped aside, ushering the blonde in.

"Send that text message. And then sleep. I'll wake you up. And don't worry about Lindsey. She'll be fine. And I'll stay awake in case she comes home early."

Catherine smiled and stepped into her room. "You're amazing, you know that?"  
"So I've heard." Sara smiled and reached for the door handle. "Good night." She closed the door right in front on Catherine.

"Good night," the blonde mumbled to the now closed door.  
She walked to her bed and sat down. She took her cell phone from the nightstand and sent her daughter a message.  
'I'm sorry. Take care of yourself and come home safely. Mom.'

Catherine kicked off her shoes and lay down. She closed her eyes and few seconds later she was soundly asleep.

Half an hour later Sara checked on her friend and was nicely suprised when she saw Catherine was sleeping. She must have been exhausted since she was sleeping on top of the covers with her clothes on. Sara closed the door quietly and walked to her own room.

For the third time that day she picked up her book and started to read.

* * *

**A/N:** Things will get better in the next chapters, I promise. Tell me what you think.

10-13-2007: I changed "worrying to sick" to "worried sick". Thank's for letting me know.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI. No harm meant, no profit made.**

**A/N:** Thank you so much for your reviews! You guys are awesome.  
And thanks for pointing my mistake. Wish I could blame it for the dictionary, but can't.

I promised myself not to answer the reviews like this, but here we go.

**Chimp1984:** Sorry, but it's gonna take a while before they kiss. But it will happen one day, trust me.  
**SlowChild:** Thanks for offer, but I think I'll just try to read my dictionaries better. (I'm bit shy, I guess...) But I'll keep your offer in mind.

I had planned what would happen in chapter five, but when I had written it all, I realized it was too long. So I divided it into two. Which means this one's little shorter than normally, but you'll get chapter six very soon since it only needs a final touch.

Now, I think you came here for the story, not for my rambling.

* * *

Sara had been reading almost an hour, when she heard someone opening the front door. She put the book on the night stand and walked to stairs. Someone was in the living room, and that someone didn't sound very happy. 

The brunette walked down the stairs and then stood few seconds in the living room doorway, looking how Lindsey sat on the couch, cursed under her breath and kicked the coffee table with her high heeled boots.

"Eventually you'll end up breaking both the table and your beautiful shoes. Plus you'll probably wake up your mom who won't be very happy about any of those."

Lindsey glanced at the brunette and stopped kicking the table, but continued kicking in the air. Sara sat down on the other end of the sofa her and looked at her watch. It was quarter to nine.

Few seconds they just sat there in silence. Then Lindsey kicked off her shoes and lifted her feet on the couch. She wrapped her arms around her knees and stared at the window. Sara decided to sit there until the girl would talk, run away or ask her to leave. She had nothing to say, at least nothing the girl would have wanted to hear. 'How was your evening' would have been a lame start since it was obvious her evening hadn't gone very well.

It started to rain. Sara could hear the drops hitting the roof. The sounds of the water made them relax, since there was something else to listen than the silence between them. So they just sat there, listening to the rain, minding their own business.

"I got dumped," Lindsey finally said.

"Sorry to hear that."

"Yeah, me too..." The girl sighed. "We were supposed to hang out at the mall with a bigger gang and then go to movie, just the two of us. But we never made it to the movie... Too bad, I really would have wanted to see that one..." She leaned her chin to her knee and looked how water painted patterns on the window.

"How long were you two together?"

"Two months."

"Your mother doesn't know."

"True. And I know I should have told her. You don't need to say that."

"I wasn't going to."

"I know."

Few seconds they just sat there, quiet, staring at the drops pouring down the window. Then Lindsey turned her head so that she was leaning her cheek against her knee, and stared at Sara thoughtfully.

"What are you thinking?" Sara asked.

"You're not going to give some lame advice and tell how time heals and all that normal stuff, are you?"

"Would it make you feel any better?"

"No."

"Then I think I'll skip that." Sara smiled a little.

"So there's nothing I can do?"

"I normally take a hot bath and eat tons of chocolate."

"Does it help?"

"No, not really. But it gives me the feeling that I've tried."

"Great..."

Sara got up and took few steps towards kitchen. "Come."

"Where?" the teenager stared at her with a questioning look on her face.

"There's lasagne in the fridge. I'm pretty sure you didn't eat anything at the mall." Sara turned around when she noticed the girl wasn't following her.

"Actually we kind of have a rule that if I don't eat at dinner, I don't eat at all. So I shouldn't. I don't want to give mom more reasons to yell at me. I'm not in the mood for a fight."

"Then we have two options. Either I lie to her that I ate it, or you tell her the truth. Well, of course there's the third option which is you don't eat. But I'm not recommending that."

Lindsey shook her head. "People always lie to her. Don't you start."

Sara smiled. "Ok. Then it's up to you. But you'll feel better if you eat something."

Lindsey rolled her eyes and got up. "You'd better be on my side if she starts to yell."

"I promise."

They walked to kitchen and Lindsey warmed herself some lasagne while Sara searched the freezer.

"If something helps for heartaches, it's ice cream," she explained. "Wow! Two cartons of chocolate ice cream. Looks like someone's preparing for a broken heart."

Lindsey shrugged. "Mom's probably having some bad luck in love once again. Maybe we should set up a club or something."

"Talking about it might be a good thing, but setting up a club..."

"Whatever. Just give me the damn ice cream and close that door before the whole freezer melts."

The brunette handed the carton and few moments later Lindsey had two plates in front of her. One with lasagne and one with ice cream. Both piles were about the same size.

"Would you be on my side of the fight if mom finds out I ate in my room?"

Sara nodded, knowing the girl wanted to be alone. "But tonight only. I'm not an ally against your mother, ok?"

"I know. And I know you know that." She took the plates and walked to the doorway. "And thanks," Lindsey said over her shoulder before disappearing behind the wall, balancing two plates in her hands.

Sara sat down, hoping she made the right thing. She was afraid Catherine would get mad at her. After all, she had no right to make exceptions for the rules they had. Sara was also afraid that if there would be a fight, it might turn into a situation where both of the Willows women would take her as a target. That would mean a lot of flying objects...

But what else could she have done? Wake Catherine up so she could yell at her daughter? Or just leave the girl alone? She realized the difficult part was just to become. That was how to let Catherine know Lindsey was already home.

The brunette sighed and stared at the ice cream carton on the table, like it could solve all her problems. For a moment she was tempted to get a spoon and finish the ice cream alone, but instead she got up and put it back in the freezer. Then she turned to look at the clock on the kitchen wall. Half past nine. They still had two hours before heading for work.

Sara decided to make 'breakfast'. There were two reasons for that: first one was to thank Catherine for giving her a place to stay, second one was to get Lindsey in the same room with her mother, hopefully without yelling.

_It might work if Lindsey won't be too angry and Catherine won't be too awake..._

Well, despite the risks, it was her best shot.

* * *


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own CSI or any of these characters, and I make no profit with this hobby.**

**A/N: **Like I said, it only needed a final touch. So I rewrote it. Go figure.  
Thank you for your reviews, I love those. Well, I guess we all do... And it's always nice to have new reviewers! Welcome.  
There's so much going on inside my head right now that I don't even start. I updated my profile. Check that if you wanna know more about me.

So, here's chapter six. Tell me what you like. Or tell me if you don't like. Or just say "Hello, I read your story." and if you feel like it, you can ad a "and I've read worse" in the end.  
(I should sleep more and I'm sorry don't.)

I try again: Here's chapter six.  
(That was better, right?)

* * *

An hour later Sara had made a huge pile of pancakes and a full pot of coffee. She decided to talk with Lindsey first, so she knocked on her door again. 

"Yeah?" Lindsey sounded bit scared, and her voice was shivering. She probably assumed it to be her mother on the other side of the door.

"It's me, Sara."

"Oh..."

"Does that mean I can come in?"

"Yeah."

Sara opened the door and stepped in. Lindsey was trying to dry her eyes in the sleeve of her blouse. It was obvious she had been crying.

"I made pancakes," Sara said from the doorway.

"Is mom awake?"

"I'm going to wake her up next." Sara leaned against the door frame, deciding not to invade the girl's private space more than needed.

"Then I'm not coming. I'll bring my shoes and jacket here so she'll just leave for work thinking I didn't come home in time. Just give me a minute to gather my stuff, ok?" Lindsey started to get up.

Sara shook her head. "We made a deal we'd skip work and wait until you come home."

"Then just tell her I came home but don't wanna talk with her. Or say I'm already asleep."

"About an hour ago a certain girl asked me not to lie to her mother, so I'm not going to." Sara gave her an encouraging smile. "She's not angry, she's worried."

"Yeah, I know. She sent a text message. Said she was sorry and told me to come home in one piece."

Sara nodded. "I think this is your best shot to get get away with this without a fight. You'll have to face her sooner or later."

"But I don't _wanna_ talk with her." Lindsey pouted.

Sara sighed and decided to try other tactic. "Unless you want us to get late, you can avoid your mother two hours, maximum. You can either lock yourself here, listen to music too loud and wait until she comes to yell at you through the door, or you can come and eat pancakes with us."

"At least there's a door between us if I stay here."

"I'll be between you two if needed." Sara was losing her patience. "Listen, the pancakes are getting cold, so I'll either drag you to kitchen or bring Catherine and the pancakes here. Your choice."

Lindsey rolled her eyes. "Fine."

"Be there?"

"Just go get mom. I want this to be over soon so I can get back here and think what I'll do while I'm grounded. And I'll blame you if this turns out to be a very bad idea."

"I can live with that. You go ahead, I'll get your mom and we'll meet there."

Sara closed the door, leaned against the wall and took few deep breaths before heading for Catherine's bedroom.

She knocked on the door and called her friend's name. No answer, so Sara sneaked in and looked around. Catherine was still sleeping in the same position, on top of the covers, clothes on. Sara walked to her and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking at her sleeping friend. What she didn't know, was that few hours earlier Catherine had been doing just the same.

Catherine stirred when she felt the weight on her bed.

"Morning," Sara said with a wide smile when the blonde opened her eyes few moments later.

"Hi." Catherine mumbled.

"You said I can use what I find in the kitchen, so I made pancakes. And coffee."

"What time is it?" Catherine sat up.

"Quarter to eleven." Sara got up and helped her friend up, too.

"Heard anything about Lindsey?"

"She'll be fine. Don't worry."

Catherine sighed and looked at herself in the mirror. "Just give me a minute to do something for my hair, ok?"

"Coffee's getting cold. So are the pancakes. And you look cute with your bed hair." Sara smirked.

"Right..." Catherine rolled her eyes but followed Sara to kitchen. And was she surprised when she saw her daughter there, eating pancakes. It was raining outside, but Lindsey's hair was dry, so she had been home for a while.

"Hey mom," the girl said carefully and glanced at her mother.

"Hi, Linds." Catherine looked at Sara and raised an eyebrow. Sara shrugged and sat down next to Lindsey, like reminding she had promised to be on her side if something went wrong. Sara grabbed a pile of pancakes to her plate and started to eat.

"You're early," the blonde continued and walked towards the coffee pot.

"Yeah..." Lindsey poured more maple syrup on her pancakes.

"Is everything ok?" Catherine asked and poured a cup of coffee for herself and Sara.

"Sure. Just fine."

"I was worried." The blonde placed the other cup in front of Sara and then sat down opposite to them. Sara mouthed her a 'thank you'

"I know. Sorry. I won't do it again." Lindsey was still avoiding her mother's eyes. "I just wanted to go and see a movie with... friends..." Lindsey's voice was no more than a whisper when she said the last word and Sara could hear the sadness in it.

"You sure you're ok? Did something happen with your friends?" Catherine's need to know if her daughter was alright took over from the need to tell her how stupid her trick was.

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Linds? What's wrong?"

"I said I don't wanna talk about it!" The answer came out even more angrily than she had planned. Lindsey glanced at her mother who looked extremely worried. She heaved a sigh and tried again. "Please? I'll tell you, I promise. Just... not now, ok? Tomorrow when you come from work. Or when I come from school. But not now. Ok?" She looked at her mother with pleading eyes.

It took a moment for Catherine to realize her daughter was actually talking to her with something that seemed almost like whole sentences.  
"Uh, sure. Ok. But that's a promise."

"It is. Thanks." Lindsey finished her pancakes quickly. "I'll go to sleep, ok? Have fun at work."

"Goodnight," Sara said and they shared a quick smile.

"Goodnight Linds."

"Night, mom."

When Lindsey had left the kitchen, Catherine turned to stare at her friend.

"Are you mad at me?" Sara asked when she couldn't read the expression on the blonde's face.

"Why would I be?"

"Because I didn't tell you she came home early?"

"No, I'm not mad at you. I'm... I don't even know what I am. Surprised, I guess. And worried."

"She'll be fine."

"She told you, didn't she? What happened?"

"Nothing that couldn't wait until tomorrow. And I don't know details. Now, eat your pancakes before those are cold. Please?"

Catherine sighed. "I feel like an outsider in my own family." She took few pancakes and started to eat.

"I'm sorry about that. But she promised to tell you. So I'll stay out of this if possible."

"I know, I know... And thank you. For the pancakes. And for whatever you did to her to get her out of her room."

"Then you're thanking twice for the same thing." Sara smiled.

"Do you miss your home?" Catherine asked after few seconds of silence.

"Are you trying to suggest I should move out?" Sara smirked.

Catherine smiled a little, too. "You know I don't want you to move out. I'm just trying to start a conversation about something else than my daughter."

"I know. Well, I haven't really learned to call that place a home. I miss my books a little, but other than that I'm fine."

"What happens for all the things you had to leave there?"

Sara shrugged. "I don't know. I guess they tried to tell me, but I was too tired and pissed off to listen."

"I'm sure it will work out somehow."

"Yeah, me too." Sara glanced at her watch. "I'm sorry, but we'd better hurry if we wanna be in time."

"Yeah. But don't worry, the drive only takes ten minutes now that there's less traffic."

"Okay."

"Umm... Sara?" Catherine looked like she was really struggling with whatever she was going to say.

"Yeah?"

"Could you... Could you check on Lindsey before we leave? Just make sure she's ok. It's not like I'm trying to... I don't even know what I'm not trying to... I just..."

"Of course I can." Sara interrupted her friend's rambling and smiled.

"Thanks."

They finished their pancakes and coffees quickly and then separated to get ready for work.

* * *

Once again was Sara standing in front of Lindsey's door.  
_Well, at least it's not because of food this time._

"Lindsey?"

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Sara stepped in and closed the door behind her. Lindsey was sitting on her bed, writing diary.

"Are you mad at me?" Sara asked.

"Nope." The girl continued writing.

"You sure? I mean, I guess that didn't go like you had planned."

"Trust me, if I'm angry, you'll notice."

"Ok then. You gonna be alright?"

"Sure. Tell mom not to worry. And yes, I am going to talk to her. You can tell that, too."

Sara smiled. "I will. You have a friend you can call or something?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine. Don't you worry either."

"Ok. See you tomorrow."

"See ya."

Sara took her purse which she had left outside the room and walked to front door where Catherine was waiting.

"So?" the blonde asked while Sara put her coat on.

"She'll be fine. Said we have no reason to worry. And she's really going to talk with you tomorrow. Plus she has friends she can call if she needs to talk with someone."

Catherine nodded and opened the front door. "Good. And thanks."

"Anytime."

* * *

**A/N:** Next chapter will a bit different because I need a break from this "How to raise your teenage daughter" -thing. And you might need to wait for it a bit longer 'cos I won't update until I know how I'm going to continue the story in chapter 8. And I don't think I'm going to write the conversation between Catherine and Lindsey, just mention they had one. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: CSI belongs to CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer and other nice people which doesn't include me. This is just a non-profit hobby for me.**

**A/N:** Hello again and thank you for the reviews. I still love those.

This chapter's short and (almost) irrelevant for the plot, but like I said, I needed a break from Lindsey. (Ouch... That sounded mean...) You'll get the next chapter soon. (When I say soon, I mean 4 days, maximum. Might happen tonight, you never know.) Tell me what you're thinking.

* * *

**Later, in the lab's break room**

Sara and Catherine were sitting on the sofa, sipping their coffees and reading magazines when Warrick and Nick walked in.

"Hi girls."

"Hey. Nick, how's your flu?" Catherine asked while the boys walked to the coffee pot.

"Pretty much gone. A little headache is left but I'm fine."

"Good to hear."

"So, Sara." Warrick started and sat down. "You look well rested for someone who slept in the lab."

"Actually I slept in Catherine's guest room."

"Nice. One-night stand or are you going to stay there longer?"

"Whoa, whoa. Stop there." Nick interrupted. "Why would Sara sleep in the lab? What did I miss?"

"Sorry Nick." Sara gave her friend an apologizing smile. "A water pipe blew off in my apartment and I had to move out. It's gonna take at least a month until I can go back. Catherine offered I could stay with her and Lindsey."

"So you're going to stay longer?" Warrick repeated his earlier question.

"I'm not into one-night stands." She flashed a beautiful, gap-toothed smile.

"Ok,_what_ are you talking about?" Greg was standing in the doorway. Luckily his coffee cup was empty and made of plastic, otherwise it would have caused quite a mess when it hit the floor.

"Catherine offered I could live with her and Lindsey until I can move back to my own apartment. I was just telling Warrick that I'm going to stay longer than just one night."

"Oh... Hey, wait a minute! So you turned me down because of her? Damn, this hurts..." Greg put his hand on his heart and looked miserable.

"Actually, I turned you down _before_ Catherine made her offer."

"Sure, twist the knife in the wound."

Greg jumped when someone coughed right behind him. He stepped aside and let Grissom in.  
"Gee, boss. No reason to scare people like that."

"True." He put his reading glasses on and looked at his files. "But I couldn't resist. And you might wanna clean up that coffee cup before someone steps on it or something."

"Right..."Greg threw the cup to trash can and sat down. Rest of the team smiled. Everyone seemed to have a good day.

"So... Good evening people. Before I forget: Sara, this is for you." Grissom gave her an envelope. "Man who brought it said something about not knowing your temporary address." Sara realized she still hadn't told Grissom and he was probably waiting for some kind of explanation.  
"Thanks." _I'll explain later._  
"Oh, and your car's fixed. It's at the parking lot."  
"Perfect."

"So, the assignments. You two continue with the body dump." He nodded towards the women. "Hodges has some results for you. And here's the autopsy report. We continue with our case and Nick and Warrick, a man was found in a hotel room. Painted blue, raped with an object and strangled. In that order. Brass is waiting for you."

"What's wrong with this town?" Nick sighed and took the case file from Grissom's hand.

"This is Vegas, man. That's wrong." Warrick answered and followed him.

Grissom and Greg left soon afterwards, leaving the women sitting on the sofa.  
Sara opened the letter while Catherine read through the autopsy report.

"Day keeps getting better." Sara mumbled after reading the letter.

"What is it?" Catherine asked trying to figure out whether Sara was being sarcastic or if the letter really was a good thing.

"They've packed my furniture and other stuff into a store room. Here's the address and the key. And I don't even have to pay for it."

"Sounds good."

"Yeah. I think I'll check that after work." Sara got up. "But now we need to catch the bad guys. Anything useful in the autopsy report?"

Catherine handed her the paper and they started to walk towards the evidence lab. "Shot wound caused his lungs to fill up with blood. He drowned in it. And it didn't happen very fast."

"Have you ever kept a list about how you don't wanna die?"

"I used to. It got too long."

* * *

**7:15 am, 45 minutes until the shift ends.**

Sara was walking to Catherine's office when she ran to Nick in the hallway.

"Hey, Nick! How's your Smurf-man?"

"You mean the blue one?"

"No, I mean the one with a funny hat." Sara looked at him with a serious expression. "Of course I mean the blue one."

"Well, so far we've found the paint is used in theaters. Right now we're analyzing what the security cameras saw. Oh, and the hotel room was paid with his dead brother's credit card."

"How can a dead person have a credit card?"

"That's what the credit card company is trying to find out."

"Okay."

"How's your case going?"

"Turned out to be the normal story. Right place, wrong woman. Wife found him in bed with with the babysitter."

"How's the girl?"

"She'll live. She was left in the desert with a shot wound in her shoulder. Luckily someone saw her and got her to hospital."

"You have the wife in custody?"

"She confessed as soon as we knocked on her door."

Nick nodded. "Sorry, but I got to go, I'm actually heading for Hodges' lab. He paged me a while ago."

"Sure. See ya."

Sara walked to Catherine's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Catherine answered with her formal tone.

"Good morning, Miss Willows," Sara answered, trying to sound just as formal.

"Sara." Catherine smiled.

"Yes, that's my name." Sara stepped in, closed the door and leaned against it. "I just thought to ask if there's something I could do? There's still 40 minutes left to spend. And it's quite quiet around here."

"Well, I think I can handle the paper work alone so I think you can leave early if you want. You got your car back so you don't need to wait for me. And I know you want to check that store room."

"Actually..." Sara glanced at her watch and counted something. "If I do the paperwork, you might catch Lindsey in time to have a conversation before she leaves for school. She promised to talk with you, remember?"

"Now I'm getting worried again."

"No reason to. I just don't want to give her time to change her mind."

"Ok. You sure you wanna do this?" Catherine got up and took her purse.

The brunette stepped aside from the door and nodded. "Just go. I need my fix of overtime. And by the way, it's my turn to make dinner, so don't stress about that. I'll go to groceries before heading for home."

Catherine stopped at the door and turned look at her friend, smiling widely.

"What? What did I say?" the brunette asked.

"You said 'home'." Catherine said and left her office.

_I didn't. Did I?_

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: CSI belongs to CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer etc. , so I'm only borrowing these characters.**

**Spoilers:** If you've seen seen seasons 1 to 6, this story shouldn't contain anything you don't already know. I'll let you know if that changes.

**A/N:** Thank you, thank you, thank you and Kiitos for your reviews.

I'm terribly sorry for breaking my promise. I just couldn't concentrate on this. I apologize, and to avoid this from happening again, I won't make promises anymore. (No, that's not a promise.)

I know this story is going slowly, but I just write down what my muse whispers in my ear.

Let me know if you're still reading this.

Oh, and it's Friday in this chapter.

* * *

**Few hours later**

Sara parked her car at Catherine's driveway and took the groceries from the trunk, hoping the front door would be open because otherwise she would need to wake up her friend. Sara made a mental note to ask if Catherine had an extra key or if she had a spare key hidden somewhere in the yard.

She walked to the door and turned the handle. It was unlocked and Sara stepped in. She had just put the groceries down and turned around to lock the door when she felt someone hugging her from behind.

Sara turned around and faced Catherine whose arms were still around the brunette's neck.

"You're an angel," Catherine whispered in Sara's ear and kissed her on the cheek before letting her go.

"Well good morning for you, too." Sara smirked. "I guess the conversation went well?"

Catherine nodded. "We actually talked instead of yelling. I wasn't really prepared to talk about boys just yet, but I'm glad she told me. I don't know what you do to her, but don't stop." She gave Sara the most beautiful smile ever seen. Then she noticed something on Sara's cheek. "Umm... I'm sorry, but there's some lipstick on your face. I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking."

"It's ok." Sara started to wipe her cheek with the back of her hand.

"Bit more to the right. No, my right."

"Now?"

"No, let me." Catherine stepped closer and wiped the stain off with her thumb. She let her hand rest on Sara's cheek a second longer than needed, getting lost in her brown eyes. What surprised her the most, was that the brunette looked back instead of turning away. Catherine stepped back and picked up the groceries, trying to avoid those brown eyes. "I'll help you with these."

"You ok, Catherine?" Sara asked and followed her friend to kitchen.

"Sure. Just fine."

They searched places for the items in comfortable silence. When they were done, Catherine turned to face her friend.  
"You want coffee? Or something to eat? I ate with Lindsey but I can make something if you want."

"No thanks. Greg bought me breakfast."

"He did?"

"Yeah... Asked me out at first but when I said I have to work, he brought some food to the lab. Said something about winning me back from you."

"Oh. How did he do?"

"Not well enough, don't worry." Sara gave her friend a beautiful smile.

Catherine smiled but didn't say anything. For some reason she ran out of words in front of that smile.

"I think I'll just go to sleep."

"Sure. Oh, what time's the dinner so I know to set the alarm clock?"

"I don't know yet. I can wake you up. It's easier and you can sleep as long as possible."

"If it's not too much trouble."

"Of course not."

"Alright. Goodnight."

"Goodnight. And try to get some sleep, too. No matter how happy you are, you have to work tonight, I don't," Sara said while she walked towards the doorway.

"Yes, mom."

"I liked that 'angel' more," the brunette said over her shoulder and then she was gone.

Catherine shook her head and sat down. It was scary how quickly she had got used to Sara's presence and the strange interaction between them. What scared her the most was how empty the house had felt those few moments she had been home alone after taking Lindsey to school and before Sara came from work.

Catherine realized she had got herself into real trouble when she had asked Sara to stay at her place. But on the other hand, she had saved Sara from trouble, so it was worth it. It had to be. Because it was driving her nuts to live with a woman she cared for so much, but not being able to show that to her.

She tried to read the newspaper but gave up when she reached page five and realized she had no idea what she had read before that. Catherine sighed and got up.  
_Sara was right... I need to sleep._

* * *

Catherine woke up for someone stroking her arm and whispering her name. When she opened her eyes, she saw Sara sitting next to her on the bed. 

"Is it normal that you don't wake up when someone knocks on the door and calls your name, or are you just faking to be asleep?" Sara asked and smirked.

"Why would I pretend asleep?" Catherine mumbled, still sleepy.

Sara shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe you want me to be the first thing you see when you open your eyes?"

"It's a bonus, I have to admit. I could get rid of my alarm clock, you know? And get used to this." Catherine stretched but made no effort to get up.

"I'm sure you could." Sara smiled and got up. "I can leave some food in the fridge if you wanna go back to sleep. I can wake you up when it's time to leave for work."

"Tempting offer, but I can't leave you two alone," Catherine mumbled and sat up.

"Hey, I'm good with kids."

"You are. But Lindsey's not good with adults."

"Just admit you're hungry and stop using your daughter as an excuse." Sara smirked.

"Ok, I'm hungry."

"See? Wasn't difficult. Get dressed and come to kitchen. I'll get Lindsey."

"Ok, angel."

Even though Catherine couldn't see Sara's face, she knew the brunette smiled when she closed the door.

* * *

**Dinner (after the normal 'This is delicious' 'Thank you' -conversation)**

"How was school?" Catherine asked her daughter.

"Fine. We have a math test next week, but it's no big deal."

"If you need help with it, just ask."

"Mom, you couldn't help me the last time I asked, and that was a year ago."

"You can always ask me if your Mom can't help," Sara joined the conversation.

"Cool."

"You and Christine got any plans for this weekend?" Catherine asked the girl.

"Christine's grandpa came for a visit and she wants to spend time with him. But we might do something together tomorrow."

"Sounds good. I'll be working the whole weekend, but Sara has a night off today."

"You do?" Lindsey looked at the brunette who nodded. "Cool."

"I'll probably stay up all night but I try to be quiet."

"Don't worry. It's not very easy to wake me up. Ask mom, she knows."

"Oh, I know."

Catherine was about to continue, but closed her mouth when Lindsey started to mumble: "And now she'll tell what kind of tricks she had to use to wake me up when I was younger... And then she'll get excited and show you all the pictures of me from the day I was born until this day..." Lindsey glanced at her mother and grinned.

"I wasn't going to!"

"Mom, you always do that." Lindsey rolled her eyes.

"Ok, maybe..." Catherine admitted. "But I wasn't going to show all the pictures. Just the one--"

"Where I sleep under my bed and the one where I sleep on the kitchen table..."

Catherine looked at Sara trying to find some kind of support.

"Hey, you're on your own," Sara answered but smiled for the Willows women and their interaction.

Lindsey had already eaten and prepared to get up. "I think I'll go now, before she starts to talk about me and I get embarrassed. Thanks for food."

"You're welcome."

Lindsey left the kitchen and Catherine shook her head slowly and smiled.

"Ok, now I've seen what you call her good mood, her bad mood and... What do you call that?" Sara asked and nodded towards the doorway.

"I don't know. It's been so long since the last time that I've forgotten."

Sara smiled. "She really slept on the kitchen table?"

"Oh yeah. It was one of her favorite places to take a nap. Wanna see the picture?"

"That would make Lindsey think she won."

"I'm ready to admit it."

"Ok. Sure."

They cleaned up the kitchen and walked to living room. Sara sat on the sofa and Catherine searched the drawers to find the right photo album. Not that it really mattered, because after few hours they had gone through all the pictures just like Lindsey had guessed.

When Sara had seen all the pictures and heard hundreds of stories behind those, they just sat there in silence. Catherine flipped through one of the albums absentmindedly and stopped when she saw a picture of herself, Lindsey and Eddie on the beach. Lindsey was maybe one year old, they looked happy, smiling at the camera. Catherine touched the picture with her fingertips, sad smile on her lips, before closing the album and placing it on the coffee table.

"Wanna talk about it?" Sara asked softly.

Catherine leaned back and closed her eyes."You're becoming our family therapist or something?" She smiled but didn't open her eyes.

"A therapist gives advice. I'm not good at that, but I can listen."

"Thanks, but I don't think I wanna talk right now." Catherine yawned. "Maybe some other day."

"Maybe you should sleep a little before leaving for work."

"You're being quite bossy today, have you noticed?" The blonde kept her eyes closed.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."

"No, it's ok. I kinda like it." Catherine smirked.

Sara got up.

"Where are you going?"

"I'll get you a blanket." Sara walked on the other side of the room and took the blanket which was on a chair.

"Don't. I'll go to bed. Soon... I just... Close my eyes... for a moment..." The last few words were mumbled with a sleepy voice.

Sara walked to her friend.

"Lie down. It's nicer to close your eyes then."

"Bossy..." Catherine mumbled but let Sara help her lying on the couch.

"I know you love it," Sara whispered and spread the blanket to cover the blonde. "Goodnight."

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: CSI belongs to CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer etc. , so I'm only borrowing these characters.**

**A/N: **Thank you for your reviews! You're awesome.

I'm not gonna tell when they admit their feelings, that would ruin the surprise. But that moment's getting close, that much can I say.

I've tried about seven different ways to divide the text I'm writing at the moment to chapters nine and ten, so this one's bit short. I decided to update anyway 'cos it's not fair to keep you waiting just because I can't decide.

Here we go, hope you like it.

* * *

Catherine woke up on the couch about an hour and a half later. Every muscle in her body was aching and she could feel a headache building up. She walked to kitchen to get a glass of water. 

"Morning," Sara greeted. She was sitting at the table, reading newspaper.

"Hi. Didn't notice you."

"Slept well?" Sara asked and turned page.

"I guess I did. But my back is killing me now. You could have woken me up, you know."

"Hey, you said you'd go to bed. Is it my fault if you lie?" Sara glanced at the blonde and gave her a smile before turning her attention to the paper once again.

"You brought that blanket. I would have woken up a long time ago without that."

"Maybe, but you would have woken up sore and cold. Now you're just sore."

"Fine. But I'll blame it on you anyway."

"Sure. I made coffee. In case you need something stronger than water."

"Thanks."

Catherine poured herself a cup and sat down. Between sipping her coffee she stretched her sore neck. Sara noticed this and looked at the blonde.

"I can massage your neck if you want me to."

"Thanks, but no thanks."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'll be fine."

"Ok."

They drank their coffees in silence and Catherine left to get ready for work.

* * *

"I think I'll go now," Catherine said from the living room doorway. Sara, who was sitting on the sofa watching TV, turned to look at her. 

"Sure. Have a nice night."

"You too. Lindsey's still awake, but my guess is she'll stay in her room."

"Don't worry. We get along just fine."

"Alright. Bye."

"Bye."

Sara continued watching the TV and few moments later she heard Catherine's car speeding off. And few moments after that she heard foot steps behind her.

"Can I join in?" Lindsey asked and leaned against the door frame. She looked like a little girl who had had a nightmare and was now standing at the door of her parents bedroom. Only the teddy bear was missing.

"Sure. What are you doing up this late?"

"It's weekend, so it's not late if it's almost midnight."

"True. Is there something you wanna talk about?" Sara moved to the other end of the couch and Lindsey sat down next to her.

"Nope. I've talked enough for one day. And I've thought too much for one day. I just wanna watch stupid movies which make me laugh. Oh, and I told Mom the same things I told you, so don't worry about blurting something in accident and getting me in trouble."

"Good." Sara handed the remote to Lindsey. "Hey, you in the mood for pizza?"

"At this time of a day?"

"This is Vegas. I know a nice place that ships pizzas 24/7. Or do you have a rule about not eating pizza after midnight?"

Lindsey thought for a while. "I guess not. And it's weekend. So I think it's fine."

"Good." Sara took her phone and called. She ordered a veggie pizza for herself and then gave the phone to Lindsey so she could give her order and the address. Sara realized she forgot to ask Catherine about the key and she didn't even know the address of the house she lived in. _Great._

They did some channel-surfing and finally found a nice movie. About 40 minutes after the call their pizzas arrived. Sara offered to pay, but Lindsey wanted to pay her part. They took the pizzas and continued watching the movie.

They were so concentrated on their activity that they didn't hear a car was parked at the driveway. But they heard when someone opened the front door with keys. They recognized Catherine's foot steps and soon she was standing in the doorway.

"You're early. Is everything ok?" Lindsey asked, keeping her eyes on the TV.

Catherine smiled, knowing the girl was quoting her words.  
"Maybe I don't wanna talk about it." She smiled and walked behind the couch. "Grissom made a mistake and we had too many people working."

"How's that possible?"

"Well, they had got this guy from days to cover for Nick and no one remembered to inform him that Nick's back to work already. No new cases and you did all my paperwork yesterday, so I helped the boys a little and then asked Grissom if I could just go home. I'm on call, though." Catherine took off her jacket and put it on a chair along with her purse and turned to the girls again. "Pizza?"

"Yeah... You should have called, we would have ordered one more."

"How was I supposed to know you'll get pizza?" The blonde walked around the couch and sat down between them. The couch was bit small for three people, but nobody complained. "Luckily you're nice and share, right girls?" She turned to look at her daughter. Or to be more specific, her pizza.

"No way, mom. This is mine."

"You bought it with your own money then?"

"I did."

Catherine turned to look at Sara, who nodded. "She did. But you can have half of my veggie pizza if you want."

"Really?"

"No, I'm gonna let you sit there and drool while we eat." Sara shredded the pizza in two pieces and placed the pizza box on top of their thighs. "My half, your half. Eat."

"Thanks."

"Now, if you could shut up, please. I'm trying to watch a movie here," Lindsey said.

"Sure." Catherine got comfortable and started to eat her piece of pizza.

"Shhh!"

The next hour they watched the movie in silence. Lindsey was getting quite sleepy, but she refused to go to bed until the movie was over. In the end she dozed off against her mother's shoulder five minutes before the end credits.

"Awww... Ain't she cute?" Catherine whispered to Sara.

"Should I take a picture?" Sara answered, also whispering.

"She'd never forgive us." But the blonde had a mischievous smile on her lips.

"I'll get my camera."

Sara got up and left the room. She came back few moments later and took few pictures of the mother and the daughter. Then she put the camera in her pocket and turned off the TV.

"I'll go and make us some coffee, ok?"

"Sure." Catherine smiled and Sara left the room, taking the empty pizza boxes with her.

"Honey, time to wake up." Catherine said softly and stroke her daughter's hair.

"Huh? I fell asleep?"

"That's what it looks like."

"How did the movie end?"

"They lived happily ever after. That's how movies always end."

"Yeah... But real life never..."Lindsey mumbled and stretched.

"Hey, don't give up on hope just yet. You'll find someone someday."

"Right... Just like you. No offense, Mom."

"None taken. And I haven't given up yet." Catherine smiled and got up. "Come on. Let's get you to bed."

"I think I know the way." Lindsey smiled. "Goodnight."

"Sleep tight."

Lindsey headed for her room and Catherine made her way to kitchen.

"You know, I'm gonna miss you and your coffee when you move out," she said and took the cup Sara offered her.

"Well, you could sabotage the renovation to win more time."

"More time for what?"

Sara just smiled and sipped her coffee. "Now that I remember, you don't happen to have an extra key for this house, do you? It would make my life here easier."

"Actually..." Catherine put the cup on the table and started to search the drawers.

"I didn't mean I need it right now," Sara sighed and put her cup on the table, too.

"If I don't do this now, I forget. Here. Catch." Catherine threw something to Sara.

"A teddy bear?" Sara asked and looked at the keyring. "A _pink_ teddy bear?"

"It used to be Lindsey's key when she was little. She thought she lost it so I got her a new one. And then she found it in her pocket or something."

Sara looked at the small teddy bear thoughtfully.

"You can change it if you want. It's yours now," Catherine suggested and walked back to her coffee cup.

"I'm only borrowing it."

"You never know." Catherine smiled and sat down.

"Thanks." Sara put the key in her pocket and sat opposite her friend.

* * *


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: CSI belongs to CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer etc. , so I'm only borrowing these characters.**

**A/N:** Hello everyone and thank you for the reviews! I'm very very extremely sorry about the lack of update. I'll save you from the long blah-blah, but all in all I've been busy staying alive and worrying about myself. But now the spring is about to begin, the sun is back and it feels like I wake up along with the nature. So I write again.

This chapter is longer than most of my chapters, but take that as an apology for the delay. I didn't write this story at all in three months, so I might have lost my touch temporarily. So forgive me if this is too different.

Here we go, and please, tell me. Tell me if you like it, if you hate it, if you read it, if your sister has a cute kitten, just tell me, OK?

Oh, and thanks for volunteering to be a beta, but this is something I prefer doing alone, I think. I'll let you know if that changes.

* * *

**It's in the genes, chapter 10**

Catherine stared into her empty coffee cup thoughtfully.

"What are you thinking?"  
Catherine jumped about a feet up in her chair when she heard Sara's voice behind her back and felt hands on her shoulders at the very same moment.  
"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Sara said and started to massage her friend's shoulders.  
"It's OK. Just didn't notice you getting up. And thanks, but you don't have to do that."

"Hey, I didn't wake you up so it's my fault you're in pain. Just relax and let me help."  
"OK..." Catherine mumbled and closed her eyes, enjoying the touch.

"So, what were you thinking about?"  
"Nothing special."  
"Well, that nothing made you smile, so tell me."

"It's just that... Lindsey has been so different today, I guess. She actually talked to me, and she spent the evening with us instead of sitting in her room. Normally she's so... angry... At me, at the world, I don't know..."

"Maybe she's trying to behave when there's a guest in the house," Sara suggested.  
"No, it's not that... She trusts you somehow."  
"I don't know about that."

"I know. And it's a good thing, don't worry." Catherine smiled a little. So far her day had been great. And there was very little that could go wrong anymore. After all, it was already two in the morning. Maybe everything would turn out to be just fine, after all...

"...but that's only my opinion. Cath, did you hear a thing about what I just said?" Sara's voice snapped the blonde back from her thoughts.

Catherine opened her eyes and tried to form some kind of question.  
"Huh?" was all she came up with.  
"I take that as a no."  
"Sorry."

"Hey, I don't mind, but you should try to stay awake 'cos you're on call."  
"Your fault. People are supposed to relax when they are massaged."

"Well, I can stop and we can do something that keeps you awake instead."

_Making out on the couch would keep me awake... _ Catherine thought.

"Sorry, didn't quite hear you."  
"I didn't say that out loud, did I?"  
"Depends on what you think you might have said."  
"Oh, you'd know if you had heard..." Catherine mumbled and closed her eyes again, getting even more relaxed than she was before.

The next thing Catherine remembered was how she hit her head against something.

"Ouch..." she mumbled and opened her eyes, trying to figure out what happened. First thing she saw was Sara sitting at the other side of the table, trying very hard not to giggle.

"What on Earth just happened?" Catherine asked, rubbing her forehead.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't resist a little test." The brunette smirked. "You fell asleep quite a while ago. I just wanted to know how long you could sleep in that position, I swear. I tried to stop when I saw you falling forward but didn't quite make it."

"Yeah, I figured that much..."  
"Uh... I'm sorry. I really am."

"It's OK. But could you, please, just wake me up the next time I fall asleep somewhere where I'm not supposed to sleep?"

"I like to watch you when you sleep." Sara shrugged. She got up and walked to the coffee maker, deciding it was time for a little caffeine boost. She had made a new pot while Catherine slept, and now poured the black liquid in two cups.

"Hey, you can sit all night in my room and watch me sleeping _in my own bed_." Catherine mumbled but only answer she got was a smile and a cup of fresh, hot coffee. Well, actually that was all she needed.

Few hours they just sat and talked about everything and about nothing. Finally when it was five in the morning they decided it was time to go to bed. If the night shift had survived five hours without Catherine, it could take few more.

* * *

**The next day, around noon.**

Catherine was in the kitchen, cleaning up after the late breakfast they just ate. Sara had cooked, so the blonde had insisted to do the dishes. Catherine smiled, thinking about how the brunette had waken her up once again. It wasn't anything special or romantic, just her, sitting on the edge of the bed, smiling. And Catherine was pretty sure that was the only way she wanted to wake up anymore. So what if Sara only lived here for few months? At least Catherine could make the most of it as long as it lasted.

"Hey, Cath?" Sara said from the kitchen doorway.  
"Yeah?" the blonde answered and put the last plate in the dishwasher, trying to wipe the dreamy expression from her face.

"I thought I'd go and check that store room now and just wanted to ask if you wanna come, too. It's not like I need help or anything, just thought to ask."  
"Uh, sure. I've nothing better to do, I guess. I'll go ask if Lindsey wants to come."  
"She's busy with her biology project or something. She was paired with Christine and they're gonna add the finishing touches to it tomorrow, so she wants her part to be done before that."

Catherine smiled and shook her head slowly.

"What?" Sara asked, confused.  
"Nothing. It's just that I always forget how amazing you are, so you surprise me every time."

Sara raised an eyebrow. "So I'm amazing 'cos I asked if your daughter wants to help me pick up some clothes from a small and dusty store room?"

Catherine nodded.

Sara flashed a gap-toothed smile. "You're easy to please," she said and turned around to put her coat on.

About half an hour later they had found the right address. They parked their car close to the door so that they wouldn't need to carry the boxes too long.

They walked the few steps to the door which Sara then opened with her key. The store room was small, but big enough for it's purpose. A small window near the ceiling let through few sun's rays. Sara turned on the lights, or actually a light, since there was only one light bulb hanging in the air, leaving deep shadows in the corners of the room.

"Cozy..." Catherine mumbled. "You know, I remember several times when we have picked up a body from a place like this."

"Well, if my memory serves me right, I didn't pack one, so don't worry." Sara smirked and stepped into the room.

"Is this really all you own or is there another store room somewhere?" Catherine asked and took few steps further into the room.  
She wasn't really surprised about the amount of furniture because she knew Sara wasn't the type of person who owns ten small glass tables just because those a pretty.  
Every piece of furniture she owned seemed to have a purpose.

What really surprised Catherine, was the amount of boxes. Or actually the lack of them.

_If I had to pack up everything I own, I'd need that many boxes for pictures only._

"It's all here. Like I said, never really learned to call that place a home. It's more like a place where I sleep a little somewhere between work and work." Sara smirked again and started to search what she needed.

Catherine looked around. "Did they really label all the boxes?" she asked after noticing that what she first thought to be a random pattern drawn to the cardboard, was actually text saying 'winter clothes'.

"Yeah, I noticed it, too." Sara mumbled. "It's kinda nice. Now I don't need to go through all of them. But at the same time it reminds me that a stranger sorted these. " Sara walked around the room and started to read out the texts written on the boxes. "Clothes, novels, other books, plates, pictures..." she mumbled as she went.

Catherine picked up a box, too. "Sex toys?" She asked after reading the label few times, just to make sure she read right.

Sara laughed a little. "As far as I know, that one should be empty. Shake it."

Catherine shook the box and they heard a metallic 'cling'. She raised an eyebrow and looked at Sara questioningly.

"Hand cuffs," Sara said and smirked. "I guess they had a trainee with a strange sense of humor doing these labels. Or what do you think about this." Sara turned the box so that Catherine could read the text on it.

"Random... staff? No, stuff... about... dead people?" Catherine spelled, struggling with the words since every letter seemed to remind of at least three letters she knew plus few from the Greek alphabet, too. "Does that mean forensic magazines?" she asked after few seconds of thinking.

"I sure hope so." Sara smirked and walked to the door, carrying the box.

* * *

Sara didn't take much with her, only some clothes, the forensic magazines and her printer. Catherine told her there was a printer in the house, but she insisted she'd bring her own. Why, that Catherine didn't know. 

When they arrived at Catherine's place, Lindsey helped to carry the boxes to Sara's room. Then they separated: Lindsey was in her room listening to music, Sara was unpacking and Catherine decided to relax a little, took a good book and sat in the most comfortable armchair in the living room.

Soon her relaxing was interrupted by a loud noise when someone ran down the stairs.

"Mom!" Lindsey yelled when she was half way down the stairs. "Christine called." She lowered her voice when she saw her mother. Lindsey stood in the doorway, a little out of breath because of the running and continued: "She asked if I could go to a movie with her tonight at eight and then go to her place for a sleepover and 'cos we need to finish our biology project and I'd go there early tomorrow morning anyway so it's pretty much the same if I sleep there except a lot more fun and you don't have to wake up in the morning to give me a ride and I _really_ wanna see that movie." The girl took a deep breath after her giant sentence and before adding the magic words: "Please, Mom?"

"Hmm... I don't know... Last time you were going to a movie it didn't end very well. I'm not sure if I should let you..." Catherine smiled a little when she teased the girl.

"Come on, Mom." Lindsey rolled her eyes. "Come with us if you wanna make sure I'm okay. Take Sara with you or something. But I really, really, wanna see that movie."

"Movie would be nice, actually. You wouldn't mind us being there?" Catherine got up and put the book on the coffee table.

"As long as you don't sit next to us I don't give a fuck about it."

Catherine gave her daughter a surprised and shocked look, but before she had time to say anything about the language, the girl realized her mistake, sighed and then continued sadly, staring at the floor. "Sorry, Mom. Didn't mean to swear. I just got a little excited. You do that too, you know?" Lindsey glanced at her mother quickly before continuing. "Use words you didn't mean to... Well, of course the situation is different 'cos you swear when you're angry and I swear when I'm happy. And it's kinda ironic, that the look in your eyes tells you're gonna swear soon and it's all because I was happy."

Lindsey shrugged, sighed and turned around. "I'll go call Christine I can't go tonight. Can we skip the yelling part this time, please? I'm not in the mood today."

Catherine reached for her daughter's shoulder and turned her around. "Whoa, whoa, girl. I know I'm not around a lot, but it's still my job to raise you, not yours."

"Whatever, Mom." Lindsey stared at the floor and tried to turn around and leave again.

"Hey, don't go back to that." Catherine said, her voice firm but friendly, and lifted her daughter's chin so she could look the girl in the eye. "I like it when you talk to me. Even if it's to tell me what I've done wrong." Catherine smiled and Lindsey was getting even more confused.

"So?" the girl asked, trying to sound cool.

"So, how about a deal?"

"What kinda deal?"

"How about we both promise we'll try not to swear when we get angry or excited, and you'll go and get your things packed and call Christine we'll pick her up around seven."

Lindsey raised an eyebrow. "Sara must have put something in your food. You're weird today."

Catherine opened her mouth to say something, but Lindsey was faster once again: "It's OK, I'll go and thank her." Lindsey smirked and turned around. "And Mom? Thanks." She said over her shoulder before she ran up the stairs.

"What have I said about running in the stairs? You'll get hurt one day." Catherine yelled after her daughter, but couldn't help a smile on her lips.

"Sorry, Mom!" And then the door was slammed shut.

Catherine put the book back in the shelf and few moments later she was standing behind Sara's door.

**_knock knock_**

"Come in, Catherine."

"How did you know it was me?"

Sara put the book she was reading on the nightstand and smirked.

"Lindsey already dropped in. I don't know what she was thanking me for, but it must have been something good. So, what brings you here?"

"Well, first of all Lindsey was thanking you for putting something in my food 'cos according to her, I'm acting so weird there's no other explanation."

"What did you do?"

"I... I didn't yell at her when she swore. And I let her go to a movie with Christine despite what she said. Which is the reason why I came here in the first place, I wanted to ask if you're in the mood for a movie."

Sara raised an eyebrow. "Sounds nice, except if this is for spying Lindsey. In that case you're on your own."

"Don't worry. Lindsey said it's fine. Or actually she said she won't give a fuck, but that's not the point. Actually it was her idea."

"Oh. In that case, I'm in. What's the movie?"  
"I have no idea. But probably there's some handsome actor since Lindsey was so desperate to see see it."

"Well, I guess it can be a good movie despite that." Sara smirked.  
"Yeah, I hope so." Catherine smiled. Then she noticed the picture Sara had on her nightstand and stepped closer. "What's that?" she nodded towards the nightstand.

"This?" Sara took the frame.  
"Yeah."

"These are called pictures. Or photographs. The mechanism is actually quite simple. The light-"  
"OK, I get the point. And I know you're smart, you don't need to prove that to me. Can I?" Catherine reached for the picture and Sara gave it. "When was this taken?"

"I have to say I don't remember. Probably it was Grissom's birthday 'cos those are the only times when he goes out with us."  
"Yeah, probably. We all look so... relaxed." Catherine looked at the picture for few seconds before giving it to Sara, who placed it on the nightstand again.

"I can try if I could get you a copy." Sara suggested.

"That would be nice."

"Sure. So, when does the movie begin?"

"At eight, but I said to Lindsey we'll pick Christine up around seven, so we'll leave little before that. I thought after the movie we could give the girls a ride to Christine's and then have something to eat before heading for work."

"Sounds great." Sara smiled.

"OK." Catherine nodded and walked to the door. "Uh... See ya?" she said when she felt like she should say something before leaving, but couldn't figure out what.

Sara smiled. "Yeah, see ya."

* * *

**A/N:** Hope you liked it. I'll try to get the next chapter done faster, but like I said earlier, I don't make promises anymore. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer:** I don't own CSI or the characters in this story. No copyright infringement is intended. This is just a non-profit hobby.

**A/N: **I'm so sorry!! I just got stuck with this chapter. It's been almost ready for three months, but I just wasn't happy with it. Still aren't but here it is 'cos I need to move on. I have a lot more chapters to write and new ideas pop into my head all the time. So don't worry, I'm not gonna give up on this story yet. I'm just very slow writer.

Thank you for the reviews! You guys always make my day.

It's in the Genes, chapter 11, here we go:

* * *

"Hey, Christine," Catherine greeted over her shoulder when the girl climbed into the car and sat in the backseat, next to Lindsey.

"Good evening Miss Willows. And you too, Miss Sidle," Christine said with a smile while she fastened the seat belt.

"Nice to meet you, Christine," Sara said and looked at the girl through the mirror. Christine's hair was light brown and swept back in a ponytail. She and Lindsey kinda looked the same even though their hair wasn't the same colour. Not like sisters, but you might have guessed they were cousins or something.

"So, your grandpa came for a visit?" Catherine asked, glanced at the mirror and rolled into the traffic.  
Christine nodded. "Yeah... He visits few times a year. He lives far and he's quite old already and not a big fan of traveling. He'll stay few more days, I think."

"That's nice."  
"Yeah."

After that, there was a silence which Sara found rather uncomfortable. "So, Christine, what movie are we going to see tonight?" she asked, trying to keep up the conversation.

"What!? Lindsey didn't tell you?" the girl almost screamed, turning from a polite little girl into a hysteric teenager within a blink of the eye.

"Uh, no..." Sara already regretted she had asked.

"It's like the best movie ever! There's this one guy who's the cutest thing on Earth and..."

"Sorry to interrupt but does this cute guy have a name?" Catherine asked. Someone might consider it rude, but Sara figured this wasn't the first time Catherine heard an explanation starting like this and leading nowhere.

Lindsey joined the conversation. "Oh, you know him, Mom. You remember that one movie, right? With the green car you found pretty but I hated it, remember? Well, he was the boy at the gas station. You've got to remember that smile! It's something you'll never forget."

Catherine and Sara glanced at each other. Though no words were spoken, their eyes yelled out loud the question: 'What on Earth did we get ourselves into?'

In the backseat Lindsey and Christine kept talking about movies in which this cute guy had acted and the adjectives they used to describe the cuteness of his smile got longer and longer. Somewhere around 'the most ever extremeliest totally awesomely cute' Catherine just quit listening and turned on the radio.

Sara looked absentmindedly out the window and couldn't help a little smile on her lips. Tired sun's rays were creeping up the walls of concrete made blocks of flats. The girls kept talking in the backseat and Catherine was quietly humming along with the radio. For no particular reason Sara found herself happier than for a long time.

She reached Catherine's hand which was resting on the gearshift and gave it a little squeeze, then took her hand away again. Catherine raised her a questioning eyebrow but Sara just smiled at her and turned to stare out the window again.

- - - - - - - - - -

**Movie theater:**

Catherine and Sara sat down behind the two teenage girls. Catherine placed the popcorn bowl between herself and Sara and tried to get comfortable. The trailers filled the screen already but the girls just kept talking about "that cute guy" who still didn't have a name.

Catherine sighed and whispered: "I'm pretty sure that was about the hundred and twelfth time I hear Lindsey saying 'cute' since we picked up Christine."

"Yeah, that seems to be the word of the day." Sara was also whispering.

"Maybe we should count how many times they say that during the movie", Catherine mumbled half aloud while she turned her cell phone off.

"Yeah, just in case the movie is boring we'd have something else to do."

"How about a bet? Every time a girl uses word 'cute', you get one point. I'll count Lindsey, you'll count Christine," Catherine suggested.

"Sure. How about two points for 'Oh my God'? It seemed to be their favorite sentence during the drive," Sara whispered.

"I quit listening somewhere around the time I heard 'cute' for the fourth time." Catherine reached to get a handful of popcorns, keeping her eyes on the screen. "But it sounds like a deal. What does the winner get?"

"How about a kiss?"

Catherine smiled a little towards the screen. "Are you planning to win or to loose?"

"Does it matter?"

Just then the movie begun. Not that Catherine would have what to answer, anyway.

At some point of the movie -very early point that was- Catherine noticed that every time she reached for the popcorns, Sara did, too. First time might have been an accident, so could the second one, but Catherine counted seventeen times.

Sara didn't show any signs of being aware of the situation. An outsider would have said she was concentrated on the movie and wouldn't have noticed anything abnormal. Once Catherine pulled her hand away before it reached the popcorns, but Sara didn't follow her example. Then she just held her hand in the popcorns, wanting to know if Sara was just looking for an opportunity to take her hand, but she just took few popcorns and her eyes never left the screen.

Catherine rolled her eyes in frustration and realized how absurd the situation was.

_Here I am, a grown up woman in the movie theater, so concentrated on my "date" that I have no idea what's going on in the movie. _She chuckled quietly for this realization and about ten people, Sara among them, turned to look at her like she had lost her mind. _Alright... Obviously that wasn't the right choice of timing. _

Catherine pulled herself together and tried to concentrate on the movie though it was quite difficult since she had missed three quarters of it. She decided to stay away from the popcorns the rest of the show.

- - - - - - - - - -

The movie was over and the four women were walking back to their car. Lindsey and Christine were leaving behind because they were lost in a conversation.

Sara took advantage of the distance and whispered to Catherine. "You owe me a kiss."

Catherine raised an eyebrow. "How can you be so sure?"

"Well, I have my reasons." Sara smirked. "So, how many points did you get?"

"Uh... I kinda got lost in the movie and forgot to count. It was actually kinda good movie, I think."

Sara raised her an eyebrow. "Really? Well, that makes me the winner and you owe me a kiss. Simple."

"I don't remember accepting that rule." They reached the car and Catherine unlocked the doors.

"Bad loser. Especially when it's your game," Sara said before getting on the front seat.

Catherine sat down on the driver's seat and checked her make up through the mirror. "It seems you're making it more and more your game every minute that passes." She gave Sara a quick, sad smile before she started the engine.

While Sara was still trying to figure out what to say, the girls climbed at the back seat, still talking about that actor who still didn't have a name. Sara sighed and decided to finish the conversation later.

After few minutes the girls' conversation had changed into dreamy expressions and occasional sighs. Despite those, it was quiet. Sara wondered if she should turn on the radio, but since no one else seemed to be bothered by the silence, she decided not to.

After about ten minutes they arrived at Christine's home again. The girls got out of the car and Christine politely thanked for the drive.

"You're welcome. And Linds? Have fun, OK? But remember to sleep, too."

Lindsey rolled her eyes. "Yes, mom. Goodnight."

"Goodnight. Call me when I need to come and pick you up tomorrow."

"Actually..." Christine started. "Mom said she can give Lindsey a ride home since you drove us today."

"Oh, that's nice. So, see you tomorrow."

"Yeah." Lindsey closed the car door and waved for goodbye before heading towards the front door.

Catherine started the engine but did nothing to leave.

"Uh... Catherine? Everything alright?"

"I..."Catherine opened her mouth like she was about to say something. "Yeah." They slowly rolled to the street.

"I'm sorry if I went too far. I didn't want to make you feel uncomfortable," Sara said softly.

"It's alright," Catherine answered absentmindedly, thinking hard whether she should act like nothing happened, or just talk this through right now.

Sara's voice woke her from her thoughts: "I've had a fun evening so far," the brunette said, testing the waters.

Catherine smiled a little and nodded. "So have I," she answered and continued after few more seconds of thinking: "Let's get something to eat. We still have an hour and a half before the shift begins. Know any good veggie restaurants?"

"Just because I don't eat meat doesn't mean you have to give up a chance to get a good steak."

"Oh, so you're planning to pay, are you? I was thinking something a little less expensive."

"If that makes you happy, I can pay."

"Well, I don't know about happy, but it sure is a good beginning."

"I guess it's a deal, then."

They both smiled a little, knowing there was a conversation they had to have, waiting somewhere around the corner, but decided to walk past it this time.

- - - - - - - - - -

**Later, at the lab:**

"OK, everyone. Sara, you help Nick with the grocery store robbery he started working on yesterday. There's some enlarged stills from surveillance tapes in the evidence room, Nick will join you as soon as he gets the results from the trace. Catherine, a girl was found stabbed, she's in a surgery now, boyfriend was with her but so drunk he has no idea what happened. Warrick, Greg, a assumed gang member was shot. And _I _have some paperwork to do." Grissom handed the case files and turned to leave.

"Gil, wait." Catherine said. "Is this boyfriend in condition to be questioned?"

"Not yet. My guess is it will take two or three hours for him to sober up enough."

"Great... Just great." Catherine sighed and got up.

"Hey, could be worse. At least she's still flesh and blood, not dark liquid inside a huge plastic bag", Sara said before leaving the room.

"Oh, you sure know how to cheer up a woman." Catherine smirked and got up.

"You're welcome", Sara said over her shoulder and disappeared behind the wall.

- - - - - - - - - -

**Evidence room:**

Sara had already read the case file and was going through the picture enlargements when she heard steps behind her.

"Hello, sunshine!" Nick greeted and tapped Sara on the shoulder.

"What was that for? I look like a zombie once again or something?" Sara glanced at her colleague and then turned to the evidence again.

"Not this time, no." Nick laughed a little. "You look happy. Even now when you're trying hard to be mad at me your smile is wide like... like... I don't know, something very wide, maybe?"

"Wow, that was an extremely exact definition", Sara answered with a smile, eyes never leaving the pictures on the evidence table.

"Well, sorry, but it's quite rare to see you that happy so I haven't really had time to invent words for that smile. So, what's up?"

"What makes you think something's up? Maybe I'm just having a good day." Sara took a bloody shirt from the evidence bag and spread it on the table.

"Hey, don't underestimate me. I've seen your good days. This one's excellent. Been on a date or something?" Nick put his rubber gloves on and started to go through some smaller pieces of evidence that had been collected from the scene.

"Something was the closer guess. We were at the movie and had a late dinner after that. I had a fun evening."

"We? But not as in 'we had a date' we?"

"Me, Catherine, Lindsey, and Linds' friend Christine. Well, we dropped the girls at Christine's before the dinner."

"Girls' night out, huh?"

"Something like that", Sara shrugged and continued to examine the shirt.

"You know, I was pretty sure you and Catherine would end up having a huge fight and we'd find you on the coffee room couch the next evening when we came to work."

Sara glanced at her friend and smiled.

"Well, luckily you were wrong. We're getting along just fine. And actually I'm kinda starting to like this family thing. All the fuss, how it's never quiet in the house. And it's nice to cook for three people instead of one."

"So you cook for them, huh? This is starting to sound serious." Nick smirked. "I thought there's an unwritten rule about how many dates you have before you start to cook for the girl."

"Well, in this case there's two girls, I live with them and I'm not allowed to pay rent. So that kinda overrules the rule about dates."

"How's Lindsey nowadays, by the way? Haven't seen her for a while."

"She's a teenager. But she's doing pretty well for one, I think. What if we start to work now and gossip later? "

"OK, then." He flashed a charming smile. "Did you read the case file?"

- - - - - - - - - -

**Later, ten minutes before the shift should end.**

Sara peeked into the lab where Catherine was working. The blonde didn't notice her presence so she knocked on the door, even though it was open.

"Hey, Sara."  
"Hi. Just though to ask how's your case going. The shift's about to end and I'm pretty much done with our case and we only have one car."

"Uh, this is gonna take a little longer than I thought, a half an hour more, I think."  
"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, not really. I just need to finish this one thing. But hey, you can take the car and I can just ask someone to give me a ride when I'm done."

"No, it's OK. I'll just wait in the coffee room. Come get me when you're done, okay?"  
Catherine nodded. "Sure."

45 minutes later Catherine entered the coffee room and found her friend asleep on the couch, newspaper on her stomach, almost like she had used it as a blanket.

"Hmm... Déjà vu", Catherine mumbled, took the newspaper and folded it on the coffee table.

Sara flinched and opened her eyes slowly. "Did you say something?" she mumbled and sat up.

"Not really." Catherine smiled. "I'm sorry, it took a little longer to process the evidence than I thought. I'll drive, OK?"  
"Sure, it's your car." Sara shrugged, got up and followed Catherine to the car.

* * *

**A/N: **I know it's not very good and there's nothing new, really, but if you review, I might be able to make the next chapter better. Please?


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: **CSI belongs to CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer etc. so I'm only borrowing these characters. This is just a non-profit hobby, please don't sue me.

**A/N:** Thank you for the reviews! It's great to know you haven't abandoned me yet.

Obviously I spent too much time with the last chapter since some things were crystal clear to me, but didn't open up for other people.

First of all Catherine's comment about Sara making it more and more her game was really about Sara messing with her emotions, just like Myx Nyx guessed.

And the popcorn thing... Well, the main point was that Catherine was wondering why Sara reached for the popcorns every time she did, too. She wanted know whether Sara was just seeking an opportunity to touch her, or if it was something else. And like you might have noticed, I don't write what's going on inside Sara's head, so we'll never know. ) (Or do we already?)

The biggest problem with me and updates is that I'm too lost in my own world and there the time goes on with a different pace. It feels like I just updated last week and when I check it from my diary, it's been almost three months. I'm sorry about that.

But now, on with the story. Oh, and please, don't kill me because of this chapter. Don't worry, no nasty cliffhanger, just... Well, you'll see...

* * *

**Sunday afternoon at the Willows residence**

Sara leaned against the kitchen door frame and spend few moments just watching Catherine, who was chopping vegetables, back towards the door.  
"What are you cooking and how come you're up before I am?" the brunette finally asked and stepped a little closer.

"Veggie soup for dinner and you were tired, I was not." Catherine gave her friend a quick smile over her shoulder. "I was going to wake you up when the food's ready."

Sara took few steps closer and was standing right behind her friend now. She reached a piece of carrot from the cutting board and brushed herself against Catherine in process. The blonde tensed for a second, trying to figure out if the touch was intentional or just an accident.

Sara stepped back and leaned against the counter behind her. "I was kinda hoping I could wake you up and steal that kiss when you're too sleepy to say no," she said casually and flipped the piece of carrot to her mouth.

Catherine shook her head sadly and continued chopping.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sara asked and walked closer. She placed her hand on Catherine's shoulder, rubbing it gently.  
"Stop teasing me." Catherine laid down the knife and removed Sara's hand from her shoulder. "It was nice at first, but now it's just mean." Her eyes didn't leave the cutting board. There was very little emotion in her voice, a hint of sadness if anything, Sara noticed.

"What do you mean by teasing?"

Catherine took a deep breath before answering. "You flirt with me. And it hurts 'cos I know you don't mean it. So stop it, please."  
She still hadn't turned around. She wanted to, but she couldn't. The risk of causing a fight was too big, and Sara always fought back.

Sara sensed Catherine's mood and took few steps back. She tried to keep her voice as calm as possible when she asked: "So you don't even think about the option that I might like you more than a friend?"

"Can you just drop it, please? Lindsey's coming home any minute and I really don't want her to find us arguing about this. Just stop flirting with me, simple." _Alright, so I'm starting a fight after all..._

Sara sighed in frustration. "It's not that simple. I don't wanna argue and I definitely don't wanna fight. Could you, please, just answer my question 'cos this is something we really should talk through instead of yell through."

Catherine took a deep breath before answering. "I asked you on a date, you said you're not interested, remember? There's nothing to talk about." She stared out the window but didn't really see anything.

"No, you asked me on a date and I said no. I said nothing about being interested or not, and you never asked _why_ I said no." Sara's voice was calm, but inside she wasn't calm at all. She was starting to realize this was her fault, and the whole situation might end very badly.

Catherine shrugged. "You didn't tell then, so I didn't ask. It doesn't really matter, does it?" She had to do something other than just stand there, so she attacked the vegetables again.

"I'm not very good at talking, you know that," Sara said softly. "I was involved with someone back then," she added, wanting to explain her behavior.

"Good to hear you found someone," Catherine answered absentmindedly.

"I didn't. Thought so for a moment, but I didn't..." Sara said and shook her head. "Not that time," she whispered so softly that she wasn't even sure whether she said it out loud or just in her head.

Catherine didn't react to her words. She just kept chopping the veggies even though those were in pretty small pieces already. Sara looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, wondering if she should just walk away and continue the conversation some other time when both of them had had some time to calm down. Instead she decided to take the risk.

"Cath, could you put that knife down for a moment and turn around?" Sara asked and stepped closer again. "I'd like to ask you a question if that's OK," the brunette said and there was something in her voice Catherine hadn't heard before.

"And you think I'll stab you because of that? Great..." Catherine tried to sound self-confident, but it didn't work out as well as she had hoped.

"Please, just trust me. Put that knife down. Those veggies are already dead. You don't need to continue."

Catherine put the knife on the table but didn't turn around.

Sara took a deep breath. "I know this is the wrong moment and I'm probably too late anyway, but would you go out with me? Like a date out."

Catherine turned around so fast it should have been impossible and stared at Sara with her blue eyes.

"See? Now if you had had the knife in your hand, it would have sliced my left arm and would be between my ribs right now," Sara explained with a serious expression.

Catherine didn't answer anything, just stared.  
"Ummm... Catherine? It's polite to answer when someone asks a question. You look like you seriously wanna slap me, so go ahead. I'll take that as an answer, too."

"This is not some kind of sick joke or test or something? You're serious?" Catherine raised her eyebrows questioningly.

Sara nodded. "Very."

"I..." Catherine opened her mouth but couldn't form a complete sentence.

"OK, blink twice if the answer is yes, once if no."

Catherine blinked three times.

"Now what does _that_ mean?" Sara was getting frustrated. She hadn't planned it to go like this, but after Catherine's little outburst she just had to correct the misunderstanding.

"That means definitely." Catherine got her voice back and her smile spread all the way to her eyes, too.

Sara let out a sigh of relief. "You know, I already thought this was the stupidest thing I've done." She flashed a beautiful, gap toothed smile. "Now that we've settled that, I think you were cooking something. Need help?"

"Wait. When? The date, I mean."

"How about tomorrow? Breakfast after shift or something like that."

"Sorry, but I need to take Lindsey to school. My sister's not in town. And Lindsey might get suspicious if we drop her to school together, especially when I'll propably be smiling like an idiot all morning."

Sara smiled again. "Alright then... How about Tuesday? Is that better?"

Catherine nodded. "That should be fine."

"Great."

"But _you_" Catherine started and pointed at Sara with her forefinger "owe me an explanation." She tried to sound threatening but the smile on her face made it less convincing.

"I know. Now or later?"

Before Catherine could open her mouth, Lindsey came home and closed the front door with a bang.

Sara moved quickly so that she was standing next to her friend, leaning against the counter.

"Later," Catherine whispered only half a second before Lindsey walked in. Then they just tried hard to look normal, tried so hard that it must have looked very abnormal.

Luckily Lindsey didn't seem to notice anything. She had a wide smile on her face when she walked to the kitchen doorway. "Hi!" she greeted and put her backpack on the floor.

"Hi Linds. Had fun?" Catherine asked casually, trying to hide the excitement in her voice.

"Sure. What's going on here? Have you been on a date, Mom?"

"No, why?" Catherine was sent a bit off-guard by this question.

Lindsey shrugged. "You look happy and you have that glow on your face... Normally you look like that after a date. Except officially I'm too young to know that so just forget I asked. So, what's going on?"

"Nothing," Catherine and Sara answered as a choir.

"OK, whatever..." Lindsey rolled her eyes. "If you don't wanna tell me, it's very likely I don't wanna hear. Call me when the food's ready." She tossed the backpack on her shoulder again and walked to her room.

When the women heard the door was closed with quite a lot of noise once again, they carefully glanced at each other. And then, all of a sudden they burst into laughter.

"OK, this has been about the weirdest fifteen minutes of my life." Catherine said when she was able to talk again.

Sara smirked. "Changed your mind already?" she asked and wiped a tear of laughter from the corner of her eye.

"Nah." Catherine shook her head. "But I've gotta admit it's the first time I start to date a person I'm already living with."

Sara nodded. "Same here. But we'll do just fine. I'm not planning to move back to lab's couch." She smiled. "Need help with the food?"

"No, but thanks for offering." Catherine put the chopped vegetables into the pot where the water was already boiling with the spices. Then she turned to Sara again and got lost in her eyes for few seconds.

"Uh... I think I owe you a kiss, remember?" Catherine said shyly and the brunette leaned in, smiling.

Catherine closed her eyes, but instead of a kiss she heard Sara's sweet voice whispering in her ear: "I can wait till Tuesday."

The blonde opened her eyes just in time to see Sara's grin before the brunette turned around and walked away.

"Hey!" she yelled after her. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I have to do some laundry," Sara said over her shoulder, a wide smile still on her face, and then disappeared behind the wall.

"I... What..." Catherine tried to call after her friend, but didn't know what to say. "Argh!" she finally muttered and turned around. She was frustrated, surprised and extremely happy, all at the same time. The blonde pinched herself, twice, just to make sure she was awake.

Catherine stared out the window and took a deep breath but it didn't help. She closed her eyes and tried again. After few breaths she felt a lot calmer and opened her eyes. She spent few minutes just staring out the window, thinking absolutely nothing. Then the soup boiled over and almost caused her a heart attack.

"Gosh!" Catherine muttered under her breath when she turned down the burner and tried to get her heartbeat under control again.

"You OK?" Sara asked from the doorway.

"How long have you stood there?" Catherine asked and then glanced at the brunette who was leaning against the door frame with a laundry basket in her hands. The only answer she got was a cute smirk.

"That probably means too long," the blonde sighed, ran her hand through her hair and leaned against the counter, looking curiously at the brunette. Sara still looked at her with the same smirk on her face and Catherine couldn't help a little smile on her lips, too.

"May I ask why you're so pleased with yourself?" Catherine asked and the smile on her friend's lips spread a little more.

"I'm distracting you. I'm quite proud of myself."

Catherine shook her head slowly, smiling. "You know you're amazing, right?"

Sara looked thoughtful for few seconds. "Hmm... I think you've mentioned that before." She flashed a quick smile. "Come on, show me how that washing machine works. I can fix pretty much anything but I don't know which button to push when I need clean clothes."

--

**Dinner table:**

After the first evening it had become a habit that in the dinner table Sara sat next to Lindsey and Catherine was opposite them. Tonight was no exception, even though Catherine realized pretty soon that holding hands with Sara _under_ the table might have been less obvious than the looks they changed _over_ it.

After few awkward moments Catherine cleared her throat and tried to start a conversation. "So, did you sleep at all last night?" she asked her daughter, expecting to get an answer like 'sure' or 'yeah' or just a shrug.

To her mother's surprise Lindsey actually answered the question with more than one word:  
"Well... We decided to do the biology project first and then we could spend the rest of the time having fun. We were ready with the project somewhere around five in the morning and then slept until noon. Talked a little after that, if you're interested."

Catherine raised her eyebrows questioningly. "Really?"

Lindsey rolled her eyes."Hey, Mom, I'm too lazy to lie, OK? 'Cos then I'd have to remember what I lied earlier. And besides, if I don't wanna tell, I just lock myself into my room and eventually you give up. So yeah, we really stayed up all night doing our biology project. I'm not proud about that, but that's the truth."

"Oh... That's... nice, I guess," Catherine answered and wondered what on Earth had happened to her vocabulary.

Luckily Lindsey was on a rather chatty mood and continued the conversation.  
"Oh, and that... hmm...idiot... I can say idiot, right? That's not swearing?" Lindsey started. "Well, that idiot called last night."

"You mean-" Catherine started the question but paused to wonder if she should call him ex-boyfriend or something else. Lindsey answered before she had time to decide.

"Yeah, I mean exactly him."

"Oh, what did he want?"

"Me." Lindsey shrugged. "I said- well, I'm not gonna repeat what I said, but I kinda said he lost his chance and I want nothing to do with him."

"That's my girl. But I hope you didn't anger him." Catherine was bit worried, she had to admit.

Lindsey shrugged. "He deserved it."

Catherine glanced at Sara who gave her the reassuring "she'll be fine, don't worry" -look.

Rest of the dinner they were chatting about all kind of things. Lindsey was taking part, too, even though she glanced at her mother and Sara every now and then, making clear she was waiting for some kind of explanation about what was going on when she came home. The women systematically ignored her looks.

_There's nothing to tell her at the moment since nothing has happened yet. _Catherine tried to reassure herself but still felt a bit guilty.

* * *

**A/N:** I know you're waiting for the kiss and that moment's pretty close already. It seems like I found my inspiration again and the next few chapters are on their way. While waiting for that, you could make me a very happy girl and tell me what you've liked the story so far. Or just tell me something. I have a flu so I just sit home and drink hot tea and sneeze. You could cheer me up a little, couldn't you? _Please?_


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer:** CSI belongs to CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer and other people I have nothing to do with. I'm only borrowing these characters and I don't make profit with this hobby.

**A/N:** First of all: Thank you for the reviews! You're great. I don't deserve you guys.

And second: I'm so sorry! It's been forever since the last update. This chapter has been "almost ready" for over a year now, but I've been struggling with chapters 14 and especially 15. But I'm back now, I hope you are, too. I promise the next update won't take as long as this one. (I know I promised not to make promises anymore but this is the exception that proves to rule.)

I know the last chapter (which I assume you have forgotten already and need to read again. Sorry about that) was out of character but hopefully this one will explain a little.

I love reviews, just like everyone else here. So please please please, let me know what you think. Or if that question is too tricky, just tell me you read it, OK?

Oh, and Lindsey is about 14 or 15 years old in this story.

* * *

**It's in the genes, Chapter 13:**

It was Sunday evening and Catherine and Sara were sitting on the couch, watching a comedy on TV and sipping their coffees. Lindsey had locked herself into her room after dinner, but the women still kept some distance just in case the girl would run into the living room.

"So..." Catherine started, eyes never leaving the screen. "What changed your mind?"

"Short or long version?" Sara asked and gulped down what was left of her coffee, tilted the cup to make sure there was none left and then placed it on the coffee table. Just a split second later she regretted doing that, since she now had to focus on her friend only. She turned a little so that she was almost facing the blonde.

Catherine reached the remote and muted the TV. "Tell the short one and I'll ask if there's something else I wanna know." She turned, too, and smiled reassuringly.

"Alright..." Sara started, looking at her hands. She was pretty sure she'd start to ramble if she looked at her friend. She took a deep breath before continuing: "I've had a thing about you for a while, already."

She glanced at Catherine and gave her a quick, nervous smile before she turned to stare at her hands again. "Don't ask how long, I don't know. Forever, maybe..." She shrugged. "Well, anyway... I thought I didn't have a chance so I never did anything about it. Then I found this someone I thought I cared about. And _then_ you asked me out... I had to say no... I thought about explaining but decided not to. I thought I was saving us both from the what-ifs. It felt like a good plan back then... But then this someone turned out to be a jerk like they always do, no need to get into details. I realized I lost my only chance with you and that really sucked. And then I just worked too much and drank too much, not at the same time though, and all that stupid stuff I do when I'm trying to forget something..."

At this point Sara locked eyes with Catherine and flashed a little, sad smile. This time she didn't break the eye contact when she continued: "I was doing pretty well, I guess... With the forgetting, I mean. And then that pipe decided to blow up and you talked me into moving here. I noticed you still felt something for me and I tried to let you know it's mutual but you thought I was just teasing you and I'm really sorry about that 'cos it really wasn't my intention. I had to correct that misunderstanding and now we're here. And to answer your original question, I never really changed my mind. "She smiled shyly and stared at her hands again when she said softly: "I've always wanted to be with you. And now that I have a chance, I don't know what to do with it."

While Sara was wondering if she really said all of that out loud and tried to gather enough courage to make an eye contact, Catherine reached her hand and started to stroke the back of it with her thumb.

Sara lifted her gaze and looked into her friend's deep blue eyes. The same shy smile played on both of their lips.

Catherine was the first one to break the silence."We'll be fine, won't we?" she said softly and Sara nodded. She was about to say something when the blonde shushed her silent. Sara frowned, wondering what that meant. Then she heard the steps in the stairway, too.

Few seconds later Lindsey was standing in the doorway in her pajamas.

"Did I interrupt something?" the girl asked when she found the women sitting on the sofa sideways, looking at her over the back of it with an expression like they had just been caught doing something wrong.

"No, of course not," Catherine said and let go of Sara's hand, hoping Lindsey couldn't see their hands from where she was standing.  
"Not at all," the brunette confirmed.

"Then why's the TV muted?" The girl crossed her arms over her chest, tilted her head to the side and looked at the women questioningly. Sara couldn't help noticing how much Lindsey's expressions and body language reminded her mother's.

"Uh..." Sara started and glanced at the TV. "We didn't like about the dialog but they have funny facial expressions?" she tried. "Like watching rap videos, it's funniest when you turn off the sounds. Ever tried?"

"Whatever" Lindsey mumbled and rolled her eyes. "Could you switch over? There's a porn movie starting about now and I'd really like to watch that one," the girl continued casually. The women just stared at her for a few seconds in obvious shock and then blinked at the very same moment.

The girl rolled her eyes again. "You lie to me, I lie to you. It's actually very simple."

"OK, we were kinda having a conversation," Sara admitted.

"But we were done already when you came," Catherine continued.

"Really?" Sara turned to look at her friend.

Catherine nodded. "We can continue later."

"Alright." Sara turned to Lindsey again: "We were done."

"It's probably useless to ask what you were talking about, but could you turn on the sounds, I'd really like to watch this show," Lindsey nodded towards the TV.

"Sure." Catherine took the remote again and Lindsey slumped on the couch between them. She was more lying than sitting and her mother was about to make a comment about how bad it was for her back but decided not to.

"Something wrong with the TV in your room?" she asked the girl instead and pushed the mute button again. The sounds of a comedy filled the room.

"Nope," Lindsey answered, making it clear she wasn't in the mood to talk. But the fact that she was sitting there with them, told something in itself.

Catherine and Sara glanced at each other over the teenager's head and shared a smile. They held the gaze a little longer than they had intended which wasn't unnoticed by the teenager.

"I'm still here" Lindsey mumbled and tilted her head backwards. She was now looking at the women upside down and they stared back, surprised. "I'm a big girl, if you want me to leave so that you can continue your chat, tell me. But don't sit there and stare at each other over my head. It's kinda annoying when I'm trying to watch TV."

Then Lindsey directed her attention to the screen again. The women glanced at each other. Catherine raised an eyebrow and Sara answered with a shrug.

They watched the rest of the show in silence. Well, Sara and Lindsey laughed every now and then, Catherine was so lost in thought she didn't pay attention to the show at all. She wondered what had happened to her daughter who rarely left her room and never told her anything. During those few days Sara had lived with them, the girl's behavior had taken a turn for the better for some reason. All Catherine was hoping now was that it would last.

**---**

**Monday morning at work:**

Sara and Nick stood in the corridor, chatting and trying to spend the few minutes there were left of their shift. They heard someone walking very quickly with high heels just around the corner.

"Hi Nick," Catherine greeted as soon as she saw them. "Sara, can I ask you a favor?"

Sara turned to look at her. "Sure." She took in her friend's appearance. Catherine was wearing blue coveralls and her hair was swept back in a loose, messy ponytail. The high heels seemed bit out of place and made the brunette smile.

"Could you take Lindsey to school? I have to pull a double and my sister's not in town. And I really wouldn't want to bother my mom right now." By the time Catherine finished saying this, she was standing in front of Sara with a pleading look in her blue eyes.

"Sure," Sara said and flashed a smile. "No problem. I can go to the grocery store at the same trip."

"Thank you so much," Catherine said gratefully. "I'll make it up to you somehow. Lindsey knows the way. There's a rough shopping list on the fridge door and I already showed you where the credit card is, right?"

"Yep. Do I pick her up from school, too?"

"It's Monday, right? Christine's mom normally gives her a ride."

"Sure."

"Hey, girls," Nick started. "I don't want to interrupt or anything, but have you noticed that you begin to sound more and more like a married couple day by day? You know... All this talk about who takes the kid to school, using the same credit card and so on..."

Catherine and Sara looked at each other and shared smile.

"I'd better get going if I want this thing done and get some sleep today." Catherine said, turned around and headed for the garage.

"_Honey_, call me when you leave and I'll make you breakfast." Sara called after her, voice intentionally dripping with flirt.

"Thanks, _Angel_," Catherine said over her shoulder, blinked at Sara and then disappeared behind the corner, leaving the sound of high heels echoing in the hallway.

Sara turned to look at Nick who was staring at her in disbelief. "What?" she asked with a smile.

Nick shrugged. "Hey, as long as you guys are happy, I don't care."

"Thanks, Nick." Sara tapped him on the shoulder. "I know you don't mean that," she said and made for the door. "See ya," she said as she pushed the door open with her back and flashed him one more smile.

Nick smiled and shook his head, wondering what on Earth was going on between the two women.

--

"Hi Lindsey," Sara greeted when she walked into the kitchen where the teenager was eating breakfast.

"Morning," Lindsey said, glanced at the brunette and then turned to look at her cereals again. "Where's Mom? She's supposed to take me to school today. Or did she forget?" A quick glance again. "Wouldn't be the first time."

"Catherine has to pull a double. I'm taking you to school."

"Oh..."

Sara poured herself a glass of orange juice and leaned against the counter. She finished her drink quickly and then went through the shopping list Catherine had made. She glanced at the cupboard where she knew Catherine kept her emergency credit card, and decided to use her own.

Since Catherine didn't let her pay rent, she could at least pay for the food, she figured. Besides, when the credit card bill would come, Sara would already be back in her own apartment.

"What are you smiling at?" Lindsey asked when she noticed the brunette stared at the cupboard with a mischievous smile on her face.

"I'm going to do something your mother's not going to like about," Sara said and smirked.

"Nice to know I'm not the only one" Lindsey chuckled.

"Hey, my plan's harmless. What do you have in mind?"

"Nothing at the moment. But I always figure out something." Lindsey smirked but Sara noticed the sadness that flashed in her eyes. "Whether I mean it or not..." the girl mumbled absentmindedly and picked her backpack that was on the floor beside her. "Shall we go?"

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer:** CSI belongs to CBS and Jerry Bruckheimer and other people I have nothing to do with. I'm only borrowing these characters and I don't make profit with this hobby.

**A/N:** I know it's been forever since last update. I'm bit of a perfectionist so I can spend hundreds of hours just changing little things that no one else might notice. But now it's here: The chapter 14! Yey!

Thank you for the reviews! You guys keep me going. Tell me what you think about this one, too. I know it's going slow but that's how I write.

And Carissa, without you this update would have taken few more months. :D So THANK YOU!

Hope you like it.

* * *

**Monday afternoon:**

The sound of a telephone woke up the sleepy brunette. Sara sat up and took her cell phone from the night stand, still half asleep. After yelling "Hello?" on the phone for several times with no answer, she finally realized she had got a text message.

She sighed and read the message. It was from Lindsey who needed a ride home after all. The brunette glanced at her alarm clock and realized she still had one and a half hours before she had to leave. So she sent Lindsey a simple "OK" as an answer, reset her alarm clock and fell asleep again.

--

"Hi, Lindsey," Sara greeted when the girl climbed to the front seat and fastened her seat belt.

Lindsey mumbled something incomprehensible and stared out the passenger side window.

"Uh... Everything OK?" Sara asked while she rolled into the traffic.

"Nope," Lindsey answered and kept staring out the window.

"Did something happen at school?"

"Yep."

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Nope."

"You sure?"

"Yep."

"Alright... But if you change your mind, I'm ready to listen, OK?"

"Whatever..." Lindsey mumbled and Sara saw her wiping a tear from her cheek.

Rest of the drive went by in a rather awkward silence. When they arrived home, Lindsey rushed straight into her room. Sara was waiting for the "bang" that normally followed when she closed her door, but it didn't come this time. As a matter a fact, there was no sound of a closing door, so she obviously had left it ajar on purpose.

Sara wondered if that was a sign for her that the girl wanted to talk after all. She wondered if she should go and knock on the door but decided to wait a few moments, just in case the girl decided to come downstairs.

The brunette had just poured herself a glass of water and sat down at the table, reading newspaper, when her cell phone rang. It was Catherine.

"Sara"

"Hi, it's me. I'm on my way so I'll be home in a few."

"Are you hungry? I can make some sandwiches if you want since you'll probably be asleep when the dinner is ready."

"You don't have to, but that would be really nice." The mention of food made Catherine realize how exhausted she was. "And you don't have to cook, just get pizza or something."

"That would be the second time within a week. Besides, it's kinda fun to see a teenager eat vegetables with good appetite." The blonde could hear Sara was smiling and that made her smile, too.

"True. And thank you, really. Is everything OK there?"

"Well... "

"Well?" suddenly Catherine sounded very concerned.

"Don't worry, nothing serious I hope. Lindsey was bit down when I picked her from school."

"Oh..."

"She was quiet and I asked if something happened at school and she said 'yep'. That's how much I know. So don't worry about it yet. She's in her room now, you can talk with her when you get here."

"Alright then... We'll see in few minutes."

"Yeah, bye."

"Bye."

Sara placed the cell phone on the table and opened the fridge. Few minutes later she had found everything she needed and was about to spread butter on the pieces of bread when she heard noise from upstairs. It sounded like something had broken down, something like a vase or a window.

The brunette sprinted to the stairs. "Lindsey?" she called but got no answer.

She jumped up the stairs two steps at the time and was soon at the girl's door. "Lindsey?" she asked, softly this time and knocked on the door that was slightly ajar. No answer this time either.

"I come in, OK?" she asked and slowly opened the door.

First thing Sara noticed was that the huge mirror which had been on the wall was now in million pieces on the floor. When she looked more carefully, she noticed some blood on few fragments. Then she saw the girl. She was on her bed, in fetal position, sobbing.

"Lindsey?" Sara called again. "Can I come there?" she asked softly and the girl nodded a little.

Sara made her way through the floor, avoiding the sharp mirror pieces, and sat down on the bed, next to Lindsey.

"Uh, what happened?" Sara asked and looked around the room, wondering what to do and say.

To her surprise, Lindsey snuggled up against her thigh and started to cry hysterically.

It took a second for Sara to realize what just happened but then she started to stroke the girl's hair gently. "Hey... Shh... It's gonna be alright..." she whispered.

They stayed like that for a moment and finally Lindsey's crying subsided into occasional sobs.

"He told 'em." Lindsey whispered in between sobs. "He told 'em everything. -sob- You're not supposed to tell things -sob- like that."

The girl took few deep breaths and Sara tried to understand what she was talking about. "And Christine wasn't at school today so I was all by myself," Lindsey whispered quietly and wiped her eyes to her sleeve. That's when Sara noticed the girl had quite many cuts on the back of her hand. They didn't look deep, but should definitely be cleaned and bandaged. She was about to tell that to Lindsey when the girl continued: "His friends... They called me with nasty names all day... They... They said he dumped me 'cos I'm a lousy kisser. And other things... Things they're not supposed to know. And Christine wasn't there and the others just walked away..." she told with a quiet voice and stared at the opposite wall. All this time Sara kept stroking the teenager's hair.

"What happened to the mirror?" Sara asked after few silent moments.

"I just had to break something. I was so angry... I- I threw it with my alarm clock." Her voice sounded bit more alive. "Mom's gonna kill me when she sees this," the girl whispered and wiped her eyes to her sleeve again.

"She won't, don't worry. Everything's gonna be just fine." Sara noticed a box of tissues on the night stand and handed one to the girl.

"Sara? Lindsey?" Catherine called from downstairs. She knew something had happened when she saw the kitchen. Sara had left in hurry since all the sandwich materials were still on the table, one piece of bread was half buttered and the butter knife was on the floor near the stairs.

"Upstairs!" Sara answered. They heard Catherine running up the stairs. Soon she was standing at the doorway, looking concerned and surprised.

"Come in" Sara said softly.

"What happened here?" Catherine asked and picked her way across the floor which was covered with mirror fragments. She sat down next to Lindsey and stroke her arm gently. "Honey, what happened? Why are you crying?"

To both of the women's surprise Lindsey crawled away from Sara and snuggled up against her mother, resting her head on the taller blonde's shoulder. Tears were running down her cheeks again.

Catherine wrapped her arms around the girl and glanced at Sara, hoping she could explain what was going on.

"Boy problems," Sara whispered and got up.

"Don't go, Sara," Lindsey whispered and took the brunette's hand.

"We have to clean that hand. It's not bleeding anymore but still. It's OK, I'll come back soon." Lindsey let go of her hand and nodded against her mother's shoulder.

"The medicine chest's in the bathroom," Catherine said and smiled a little at the brunette.

Sara nodded and left the room, closing the door behind her.

She found what she needed to clean and bandage the cuts in Lindsey's hand and headed to the girl's room again. She stopped behind the door and heard quiet voices behind it. Sara decided not to disturb them and tip-toed downstairs. She cleaned the mess she had left behind in the kitchen, poured a glass of cold water for Lindsey and then headed upstairs again.

This time the room was quiet. Sara knocked on the door softly and then stepped in.

Lindsey's eyes were closed and she looked peaceful, still leaning against her mother's shoulder.

"Is she asleep?" Sara whispered to Catherine.

"Nope" Lindsey answered, also whispering, and smiled a little.

Sara walked to the bed, put the bandage equipments on the night stand and knelt down in front of the girl.

"Could you give me your hand, Lindsey? I'll clean the cuts."

The girl nodded and placed her hand on her own knee.

"This might feel bit uncomfortable" Sara warned and started to clean the wound. "None of these look deep, more scratches than wounds," she said when she had wiped away the dried blood and wrapped the hand in a bandage. "Does it hurt?"

"Not really," Lindsey mumbled, eyes still closed.

"Good." Sara nodded, stood up and then looked at Catherine. "I can clean up these mirror pieces or should we do it later?"

"Maybe later," Catherine answered softly.

"OK." Sara nodded. "I'll be in the kitchen. And Lindsey, there's a glass of water and some pain killers on the night stand. I know how horrible headache you can get from crying."

"Thanks, Sara." Lindsey opened her eyes for short moment and flashed a quick smile at the brunette.

"Anytime."

Sara headed to the kitchen again. Few moments she walked around the kitchen, wondering what she could do to make Lindsey feel better. Chocolate ice cream might not work this time, but she checked the freezer anyway, just in case, and found some.

She left it there and loaded the coffee maker. Lindsey would probably sleep a few hours, so they could form some kind of a plan with Catherine.

Sara glanced at her watch and realized that the closest thing to a meal that day had been the glass of orange juice she drank in the morning. So she started the sandwich project again. When she was almost done, she sensed Catherine was standing in the doorway behind her. Sara hadn't heard her coming, but she knew the blonde was there.

"How is she?" Sara asked but got no answer.

She turned around and saw Catherine leaning against the door frame, trying to blink tears from her eyes.

"Amm..." Sara started hesitantly. She wiped her hands to her shirt and stepped a little closer. "You need a hug or something? I'm really not good a this but-"

Before she finished the sentence, Catherine's arms were around her and she was leaning her head against the brunette's shoulder. After a second of shock, the brunette hugged her back. Physical contact had always been out of her comfort zone but she was surprised this time it didn't feel so bad.

"Thank you." Catherine mumbled against Sara's shoulder. "I don't know what to do...She's hurting and I can't take it away..." The brunette didn't answer anything, just held her close.

After few moments Catherine made some space between them and wiped her eyes. "Look at me..." she mumbled, and let out a little laugh. "My mascara's on my cheeks, my hair's a mess, I feel like I still have motor oil all over me even though I took a shower at the lab..."

"Long day, huh?" Sara asked and smirked.

Catherine laughed a little. "I'm exhausted," she confessed.

"Want some sandwiches and coffee?"

"That would be great." Catherine said and flashed a beautiful smile.

"Alright. Sit."

Catherine did as she was ordered. Sara soon brought her a sandwich and a cup of steaming coffee. The blonde closed her eyes, smelled the coffee and then let out a long sigh. Then she slowly opened her eyes and faced Sara, who was looking at her rather amused.

Catherine opened her mouth to say something, but Sara stopped her. "I know. I'm amazing. You don't have to say that. Just drink your coffee and eat and then we can talk about Lindsey."

They ate and drank in silence.

"Maybe I should call her teacher," Catherine started when she had finished her coffee. "She was bullied after all. She said she's not going to school ever again."

"Don't do that before asking her. It might make things worse."

"Then what am I supposed to do? I can't just leave her here and go to work like nothing had happened." Then Catherine suddenly buried her face in her hands. "Dear God... Work... I have to go to lab tonight, Grissom just sent me home to get some sleep. We have to solve that case quickly. My sister's not in town and I really don't want my Mom here to tell me how awful mother I am 'cos my daughter is crying."

Sara cleared her throat. "I have about hundred and seventy-three vacation days I haven't used. I mean... I understand if you think it's a bad idea but Lindsey seems to trust me somehow..."

Catherine just stared at the brunette. The look on her face didn't tell anything, no matter how hard Sara was trying to read it.

"OK, now you're either thinking I'm out of my mind or something else. Which one?"

"I'm just trying to find a synonym for the word 'amazing'" Catherine smiled a little and her eyes were sparkling again, like she was about to cry.

Sara rolled her eyes. "Great. You're overtired. But now that we've solved one problem, it's time for you to get some sleep."

Catherine had just stood up when they heard some kind of music from upstairs.

"What's that?" Sara asked.

"I think it's Lindsey's cell phone," Catherine said and sat down again, listening carefully.

"That's either a good thing or a very bad thing," Sara said and Catherine nodded. Then they stayed completely still and just listened. They heard quiet talking.

"She's not yelling," Sara stated, whispering.

"I guess that means it's Christine." Catherine let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

Few moments they just sat there and looked at each other, wondering what to do next.

Finally Catherine whispered: "If that's one of their marathon phone calls, it may not end until midnight."

"You wanna go to bed? I can report what happened when you wake up," Sara whispered back.

"No. I wanna know what they talked about."

"Want another cup of coffee?"

"Not if I'm planning to sleep. But I think I'll take another sandwich. And since you're closer to the fridge, could you, please, give me a water bottle."

"Sure thing."

They ate in silence again, not wanting to miss the ending of the phone call.

Then they heard steps in the stairs. Soon Lindsey was standing in the doorway.

"Hey... How are you feeling?" Catherine asked when the girl walked to the table.

Lindsey shrugged. "Bit better, I guess..." she said and sat down next to Sara. "Christine called and asked what we got for homework today. She had a headache but she's coming to school tomorrow."

"That's good to hear," Catherine said and the girl nodded.

"Would you like a cup of tea or hot chocolate or something?" Sara asked.

"Hot chocolate sounds great, actually."

"Alright then."

Sara got up and searched the cupboards to find what she needed.

She was standing in front of the stove, her back towards the table, when she heard Catherine yawning.

"Go to bed, Mom," Lindsey said. "You look like hell."

"Huh?" Catherine asked and Sara burst into laughter when she turned and saw the surprised look on her friend's face.

"You're laughing at me." Catherine stared at the brunette in mock shock.

"Lindsey's right, you really should get some sleep. We'll be fine, won't we?" Sara looked at the girl.

"Sure," Lindsey nodded. "Goodnight, Mom."

"Alright then... Goodnight." Catherine got up and made for the door. She stopped at the doorway and turned around, probably planning to say something clever, but forgot it by the time she opened her mouth. So she just turned around and walked to the stairs.

"So, Sara, what do we have for dinner?"


End file.
